Geotrichum candidum NRRL Y-553 lipase: purification, characterization and fatty acid specificity.

Lipases from Geotrichum candidum NRRL Y-553 are of interest because of their unique specificity for cis-9-unsaturated fatty acids relative to both stearic and palmitic acids. The lipases were partially purified by chromatography on Octyl Sepharose, AG MP-1 macroporous anion exchanger, and chromatofocusing resin. The preparation was found to contain multiple, glycosylated lipases varying slightly in pI (pI 4.88, 4.78, 4.65, 4.57 and 4.52) as judged by both activity and silver staining. The molecular mass determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was 64 kilodaltons for the main species, with minor species of 60 and 57 kilodaltons present as well. The specificity of the crude lipases for hydrolysis of 4-methylumbelliferyl esters of oleic vs. palmitic acid was 20-to-1. The specificity of the purified, partially separated lipases was similar to that of the crude preparation. Thus the lipases could be used even in crude form for the hydrolysis and restructuring of triacylglycerols on a large scale.

Methyl-branched octanoic acids as substrates for lipase-catalyzed reactions.

Hydrolyses of racemic methyl-branched octanoic acid thiolesters are described using six commercial lipases as catalysts. Branching at positions 2, 4 and 5 greatly reduced activity; branching at the 3-position virtually eliminated activity. The reactivities of the racemic branched thiolesters relative to the unbranched ester were very similar for each lipase preparation examined. In reactions involving configurationally pure 2-methyloctanoic acids, the S-enantiomer reacted faster both in esterification of aliphatic alcohols and in hydrolyses of aliphatic alcohol esters with all of the lipases examined. Stereobiases in hydrolyses of the octanoic acid esters branched at other positions were low and variable. In sharp contrast to the hydrolyses of the thiolesters of 2-methyloctanoic acid, two aryl esters of 2-methyloctanoic acid catalyzed by R. miehei lipase hydrolyzed with a bias for the R-configuration. A view of the ester-enzyme complex is offered to explain the relative rates of reaction of the racemic esters.

Purification and specificity of lipases fromGeotrichum candidum.

A crude, commercialGeotrichum candidum lipase (EC 3.1.1.3) preparation (Amano GC-20) was purified by hydrophobic interaction chromatography on Octyl Sepharose. The purified enzyme is a microheterogeneous glycoprotein containing isozymes varying in molecular weight, pI and specificity. It consists of 64, 62 and 59 kDa species as determined by denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Five isozymes (pI 4.40, 4.47, 4.58, 4.67 and 4.72) are detected by isoelectric focusing using both silver and activity stains. Chromatofocusing was used to separate the isozymes according to pI. Although all the isozymes are specific for oleatevs stearate esters, one isozyme (pI 4.72) is also specific for oleatevs palmitate. The number of isozymes is reduced to two (pI 4.67 and 4.72) after carbohydrate removal using endoglycosidase F/N-glycosidase. These isozymes may be products of two lipase genes.

Kinetic resolution of secondary alcohols with commercial lipases : Application to rootworm sex pheromone synthesis.

The relative rates of enzyme-catalyzed esterification of the enantiomers of 2-octanol with various acids were determined for several commercial lipases. Interesterifications and hydrolyses of racemic 2-octanol esters catalyzed by these enzymes were also examined. Novo'sMucor miehei lipase exhibited considerable enantioselectivity and was therefore employed to prepare 8-methyl-2-decanols with high configurational purity at the carbinol carbon. Esters of these alcohols had been previously identified as sexually attractive to several rootworm (Diabrotica) species, and the stereochemistry of those esters had been shown to be critical to the attraction. The enzymatic resolution provides a convenient method to obtain such esters in a desired state of configurational purity.