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Cloning, expression and preliminary characterization of a novel nitrilase from the Red Sea, Atlantis II Deep brine pool using a metagenomic approach

With the abundance of hazardous nitrile compounds in nature and with the extensive use of them in industries of fine chemicals, the attention towards nitrilases has profoundly increased as biocatalysts in different industries and in bioremediation. The use of nitrilases, which hydrolyze nitriles int...

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Main Author: Sonbol, Sarah Ali
Format: Thesis
Published: AUC Knowledge Fountain 2014
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access_status_str Open Access
author Sonbol, Sarah Ali
author_browse Sonbol, Sarah Ali
author_facet Sonbol, Sarah Ali
author_sort Sonbol, Sarah Ali
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv The author retains all rights with regard to copyright. The author certifies that written permission from the owner(s) of third-party copyrighted matter included in the thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study has been obtained. The author further certifies that IRB approval has been obtained for this thesis, or that IRB approval is not necessary for this thesis. Insofar as this thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study is an educational record as defined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 USC 1232g), the author has granted consent to disclosure of it to anyone who requests a copy.
description With the abundance of hazardous nitrile compounds in nature and with the extensive use of them in industries of fine chemicals, the attention towards nitrilases has profoundly increased as biocatalysts in different industries and in bioremediation. The use of nitrilases, which hydrolyze nitriles into carboxylic acids and ammonia, was introduced as a biological method superior to conventional chemical means. In contrast to conventional microbiological techniques using cultured microorganisms, and with the loads of genomic sequences available in the databases, identification of novel nitrilases using metagenomic approaches seems more promising. In this study, a nitrilase was isolated from the microbial metagenomic DNA obtained from the Lower Convective Layer (LCL) of Atlantis II Deep Brine Pool in the Red Sea. Sequences of putative nitrilases were retrieved from the LCL database, followed by PCR amplification and gene synthesis of the chosen sequences. Amplified genes were cloned into pET SUMO expression vector, whereas a synthesized gene, with optimized codons for E. coli, was cloned into pET-28b+ vector flanked by SacI and HindIII restriction sites. The recombinant proteins were then expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) cells. The His-tagged protein (Nitra-S), from the recombinant pET-28b+ transformed cells, was successfully purified using Ni-NTA affinity chromatography columns under native conditions. Preliminary studies on the induced cells, crude extracts and the purified enzyme showed that Nitra-S exhibited nitrilase activity towards dinitriles (succinonitrile and gluteronitrile) rather than other nitrile classes. The used quantitative activity assay was based on measuring the amounts of released ammonia upon the action of nitrilases on their nitrile substrates. Full characterization of the purified nitrilase is still to be done; however, the isolation of this protein from the LCL with its unique characteristics, increase the odds towards finding exceptional properties of the newly identified nitrilase.
format Thesis
id oai:fount.aucegypt.edu:etds-2170
institution American University in Cairo (Egypt)
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:35:47.730Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from AUC Knowledge Fountain — bepress
publishDate 2014
publishDateRange 2014
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publisher AUC Knowledge Fountain
publisherStr AUC Knowledge Fountain
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source_str AUC Knowledge Fountain — bepress
spelling oai:fount.aucegypt.edu:etds-2170 Cloning, expression and preliminary characterization of a novel nitrilase from the Red Sea, Atlantis II Deep brine pool using a metagenomic approach Sonbol, Sarah Ali With the abundance of hazardous nitrile compounds in nature and with the extensive use of them in industries of fine chemicals, the attention towards nitrilases has profoundly increased as biocatalysts in different industries and in bioremediation. The use of nitrilases, which hydrolyze nitriles into carboxylic acids and ammonia, was introduced as a biological method superior to conventional chemical means. In contrast to conventional microbiological techniques using cultured microorganisms, and with the loads of genomic sequences available in the databases, identification of novel nitrilases using metagenomic approaches seems more promising. In this study, a nitrilase was isolated from the microbial metagenomic DNA obtained from the Lower Convective Layer (LCL) of Atlantis II Deep Brine Pool in the Red Sea. Sequences of putative nitrilases were retrieved from the LCL database, followed by PCR amplification and gene synthesis of the chosen sequences. Amplified genes were cloned into pET SUMO expression vector, whereas a synthesized gene, with optimized codons for E. coli, was cloned into pET-28b+ vector flanked by SacI and HindIII restriction sites. The recombinant proteins were then expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) cells. The His-tagged protein (Nitra-S), from the recombinant pET-28b+ transformed cells, was successfully purified using Ni-NTA affinity chromatography columns under native conditions. Preliminary studies on the induced cells, crude extracts and the purified enzyme showed that Nitra-S exhibited nitrilase activity towards dinitriles (succinonitrile and gluteronitrile) rather than other nitrile classes. The used quantitative activity assay was based on measuring the amounts of released ammonia upon the action of nitrilases on their nitrile substrates. Full characterization of the purified nitrilase is still to be done; however, the isolation of this protein from the LCL with its unique characteristics, increase the odds towards finding exceptional properties of the newly identified nitrilase. 2014-02-01T08:00:00Z thesis application/pdf https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/1171 https://fount.aucegypt.edu/context/etds/article/2170/viewcontent/SARAH_20SONBOL_20THESIS_2016_20Dec.pdf The author retains all rights with regard to copyright. The author certifies that written permission from the owner(s) of third-party copyrighted matter included in the thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study has been obtained. The author further certifies that IRB approval has been obtained for this thesis, or that IRB approval is not necessary for this thesis. Insofar as this thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study is an educational record as defined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 USC 1232g), the author has granted consent to disclosure of it to anyone who requests a copy. Theses and Dissertations AUC Knowledge Fountain Metagenomics Protein
spellingShingle Metagenomics
Protein
Sonbol, Sarah Ali
Cloning, expression and preliminary characterization of a novel nitrilase from the Red Sea, Atlantis II Deep brine pool using a metagenomic approach
title Cloning, expression and preliminary characterization of a novel nitrilase from the Red Sea, Atlantis II Deep brine pool using a metagenomic approach
title_full Cloning, expression and preliminary characterization of a novel nitrilase from the Red Sea, Atlantis II Deep brine pool using a metagenomic approach
title_fullStr Cloning, expression and preliminary characterization of a novel nitrilase from the Red Sea, Atlantis II Deep brine pool using a metagenomic approach
title_full_unstemmed Cloning, expression and preliminary characterization of a novel nitrilase from the Red Sea, Atlantis II Deep brine pool using a metagenomic approach
title_short Cloning, expression and preliminary characterization of a novel nitrilase from the Red Sea, Atlantis II Deep brine pool using a metagenomic approach
title_sort cloning expression and preliminary characterization of a novel nitrilase from the red sea atlantis ii deep brine pool using a metagenomic approach
topic Metagenomics
Protein
url https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/1171
https://fount.aucegypt.edu/context/etds/article/2170/viewcontent/SARAH_20SONBOL_20THESIS_2016_20Dec.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT sonbolsarahali cloningexpressionandpreliminarycharacterizationofanovelnitrilasefromtheredseaatlantisiideepbrinepoolusingametagenomicapproach