In vitro and in silico characterization of a novel dextranase from Pochonia chlamydosporia .

The objective of this study was to purify, characterize, and phylogenetically and structurally analyze the dextranase produced by the fungus Pochonia chlamydosporia . Dextranase produced by the fungus P. chlamydosporia was purified to homogeneity in two steps, with a yield of 152%, purification factor of 6.84 and specific activity of 358.63 U/mg. Its molecular weight was estimated by SDS-PAGE at 64 kDa. The enzyme presented higher activity at 50 °C and pH 5.0, using 100 mM citrate-phosphate buffer, was inhibited by Ag1+ , Hg2+ , Cu2+ , Mg2+ , and presented KM of 23.60 µM. Mature dextranase is composed of 585 amino acids residues, with a predicted molecular weight of 64.38 kDa and pI 5.96. This dextranase showed a strong phylogenetic similarity when compared to Trichoderma harzianum dextranase. Its structure consists of two domains: the first composed by 15 β strands, and the second composed by a right-handed parallel β-helix.