A gene encoding a maltogenic amylase of Bacillus stearothermophilus ET1 was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. DNA sequence analysis indicated that the gene could encode a 69627-Da protein containing 590 amino acids. The predicted amino acid sequence of the enzyme shared 47Ϫ70% identity with the sequences of maltogenic amylase from Bacillus licheniformis, neopullulanase from B. stearothermophilus, and cyclodextrin hydrolase (CDase) I-5 from an alkalophilic Bacillus I-5 strain. In addition to starch, pullulan and cyclodextrin, B. stearothermophilus could hydrolyze isopanose, but not panose, to glucose and maltose. Maltogenic amylase hydrolyzed acarbose, a competitive inhibitor of amylases, to glucose and a trisaccharide. When acarbose was incubated with 10% glucose, isoacarbose, containing an A-1,6-glucosidic linkage was produced as an acceptor reaction product. B. stearothermophilus maltogenic amylase shared four highly similar regions of amino acids with several amylolytic enzymes. The β-cyclodextrinϪhydrolyzing activity of maltogenic amylase was enhanced to a level equivalent to the activity of CDase when its amino acid sequence between the third and the fourth conserved regions was made more hydrophobic by site-directed mutagenesis. Enhanced transglycosylation activity was observed in most of the mutants. This result suggested that the members of a subfamily of amylolytic enzymes, including maltogenic amylase and CDase, could share similar substrate specificities, enzymatic mechanisms and structure/function relationships.Keywords : Bacillus stearothermophilus; maltogenic amylase ; acarbose ; transglycosylation; site-directed mutagenesis.Many types of amylases with unique properties have been megaterium [7], and A-amylase of Thermoactinomyces vulgaris [8] have been reported to hydrolyze the A-1,4 linkages of pulluisolated and characterized for various applications in the starch industry [1,2]. These proteins share many structural and mecha-lan to produce panose. Amylolytic enzymes, such as cyclodextrin glucanotransferases (CGTase) and CDase exhibit their nistic characteristics. However, amylases can be divided into several groups according to substrate specificities, patterns of highest levels of activity on cyclomaltodextrins [9Ϫ11]. Some starch cleavage, transglycosylation or cyclization activities, and amylolytic enzymes, including debranching enzymes and structural features. Classical A-amylases (e.g. 1,4-A-D-glucan CGTase, catalyze transglycosylation by forming A-1,4 or A-1,6 glucanohydrolase) catalyze hydrolysis of A-1,4-glucosidic link-linkages. ages in starch, and different amylases give rise to oligosacchaJespersen et al.[12] used sequence alignments and structurerides with specific lengths of glucose as major product [2]. De-prediction models to predict the presence of A-amylase-type branching enzymes are capable of hydrolyzing A-1,6-glucosidic (β/A) 8 -barrel domains and the positions of the β-strands and Alinkages in starch and/or pullulan [1, 3Ϫ5] to produce maltotri-helices found in 47 amy...