Partial Purification and Characterization of a Polysaccharide Depolymerase Associated with Phage-Infected Erwinia amylovora

Authors

Peter A. Vandenbergh, Microlife Technics, Sarasota, Florida
Ann M. Wright, Microlife Technics, Sarasota, Florida
Anne K. Vidaver, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

4-1-1985

Comments

Published in APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY, Apr. 1985, p. 994-996 Vol. 49, No. 4. Copyright © 1985, American Society for Microbiology. Used by permission.

Abstract

Erwinia amylovora infected with bacteriophage ERA103 produced an enzyme which degraded the extracellular polysaccharide of noninfected cells. The depolymerase enzyme was purified 15-fold by a procedure which included ammonium sulfate precipitation, ultracentrifugation, CM-Sephadex batchwise separation, Sephadex G-50 column chromatography, and Sephacryl S-200 column chromatography. The enzyme had a molecular weight of approximately 21,000 and a pH optimum of 6.0. Activity was enhanced by supplements of 2-mercaptoethanol or dithiothreitol.