NOVEL THERMOSTABLE COLLAGEN-DECOMPOSING ENZYME, NOVEL MICROORGANISM PRODUCING THE ENZYME AND PROCESS FOR PRODUCING THE ENZYME

摘要

Bacillus sp. NTAP-1 having been deposited under accession number FERM BP-6926; and a collagen-digesting enzyme produced by this bacterium. The abo ve enzyme (1) has a capability of hydrolyzing, at the highest efficiency, collagen and gelatin from among casein, gelatin, albumin and collagen; (2) shows the optimum pH of 3.5 to 4.5; (3) shows the optimum temperature of 65 to 70 ~C; (4) after heating at 60 ~C at pH 6.0 for 4 hours, sustains an activit y amounting to 60% or more of the level before the heat treatment; (5) remains stable at pH 3 to 6; and (6) has a molecular weight of about 46,000 when measured by SDS-PAGE.