Purification and characterization of a serine carboxypeptidase from Kluyveromyces marxianus

We purified a carboxypeptidase (CPY) from the yeast of Kluyveromyces marxianus. This enzyme was purified 170 times from a soluble extract of 100000 x g. Purification consisted in a fractionated precipitation with ammonium sulfate and two chromatographic steps consisting of anion exchange chromatography and hydrophobic interactions chromatography. The native enzyme depicted a molecular mass of 67 kDa by gel filtration. This serine carboxypeptidase depicted an optimal pH of 8.5 and was stable at a pH ranging from 6.0 to 9.0, its optimal temperature was of 45 degrees C and was unstable at temperatures above 55 degrees C; Michaelis constant and Vmax for N-benzoyl-l-tyrosine-p-nitroanilide were of 29 microM and 612 microM/min mg of protein, respectively. The enzyme was strongly inhibited by phenylmethylsufonyl fluoride (PMSF) and, to a lesser degree, by trans-epoxysuccinyl-l-leucylamido-(4-guanidine)-butane. This study indicated that K. marxianus carboxypeptidase could be an alternative to other animal-source carboxypeptidases in the industry.