Novel Feruloyl Esterase from Lactobacillus fermentum NRRL B-1932 and Analysis of the Recombinant Enzyme Produced in Escherichia coli

A total of 33 Lactobacillus strains were screened for feruloyl esterase (FE) activity using agar plates containing ethyl ferulate as the sole carbon source, and Lactobacillus fermentum NRRL B-1932 demonstrated the strongest FE activity among a dozen species showing a clearing zone on the opaque plate containing ethyl ferulate. FE activities were monitored using high-performance liquid chromatography with an acetonitrile-trifluoroacetic acid gradient. To produce sufficient purified FE from L. fermentum strain NRRL B-1932 (LfFE), the cDNA encoding LfFE (Lffae) was amplified and cloned by using available closely related genome sequences and overexpressed in Escherichia coli. A 29.6-kDa LfFE protein was detected from the protein extract of E. coli BL21(pLysS) carrying pET28bLffae upon IPTG (isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactopyranoside) induction. The recombinant LfFE containing a polyhistidine tag was purified by nickel-nitrilotriacetic acid affinity resin. The purified LfFE showed strong activities against several artificial substrates, including p-nitrophenyl acetate and 4-methylumbelliferyl p-trimethylammoniocinnamate chloride. The optimum pH and temperature of the recombinant LfFE were around 6.5 and 37 degrees C, respectively, as determined using either crude or purified recombinant LfFE. This study will be essential for the production of the LfFE in E. coli on a larger scale that could not be readily achieved by L. fermentum fermentation. IMPORTANCE The production of feruloyl esterase (FE) from Lactobacillus fermentum NRRL B-1932 reported in this study will have immense potential commercial applications not only in biofuel production but also in pharmaceutical, polymer, oleo chemical, cosmetic additive, and detergent industries, as well as human health-related applications, including food flavoring, functional foods, probiotic agents, preventive medicine, and animal feed. Given the essential role FE plays in the production of hydroxycinnamic acids and ferulic acid, plus the generally regarded as safe status of lactobacilli, which therefore have less regulatory concerns, LfFE from the probiotic L. fermentum reported in this work can be directly used for increased production of high-value hydroxycinnamates and ferulic acid from natural or synthetic carbon sources.