Characterization of a recombinant arginine deiminase from Halothermothrix orenii and its application in citrulline production

Abstract

In recent years, arginine deiminase (ADI, EC 3.5.3.6) has attracted much attention as a biocatalyst that produces the functional amino acid l‐citrulline from l‐arginine and also as an anticancer enzyme. Here, we identified and characterized a putative ADI from the thermophilic bacterium Halothermothrix orenii. The H. orenii ADI (H‐ADI) protein was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) with a specific activity of 91.8 U/mg protein at 55°C and pH 6.5. The enzyme remained at 74% relative activity after incubation at 45°C for 180 min, only 25% at 50°C. The melting temperature was 56°C. H‐ADI is not a metal‐requiring enzyme; Ni2+ slightly improved the catalytic activity. The Km and Vmax for l‐arginine were 55.5 mM and 156.8 μmol/min/mg protein, respectively. Moreover, three residues (Arg183, Arg237, and His273) were key to the formation of l‐citrulline, as analyzed by alanine‐scanning mutagenesis. Finally, the enzymatic synthesis of l‐citrulline was carried out at 50°C with a conversion ratio reaching 99.03%. Together, these findings show that H‐ADI is a promising biocatalyst for the production of l‐citrulline.

Isolation and identification of bacterial isolates producing Arginine deiminase from assorted soil environments in Egypt using16S rRNA sequencing technique

“…Colonies which were able to utilize L-arginine as sole metabolic Nitrogen rootage were only grown on MAA plates and were considered ADI producing bacterial isolates which were further subcultured for numerous times until pure colonies were gotten. 20 The produced colonies on MAA plates were further subjected to subculture on Nutrient agar plates.…”