Suntory Holdings Limited

Kirin Holdings Kabushiki Kaisha

Hiroaki Kasai

Harukazu Fukami

Misa Ochiai

Masahiro Nakao

Masaki Kanamori

Yasuhiro Nishida

Norihiko Misawa

Kyoko Adachi

Yoshikazu Shizuri

Sadao Komemushi

Harukazu c/o Suntory Limited Fukami

Misa c/o Suntory Limited Ochiai

Masahiro c/o Suntory Limited Nakao

Masaki c/o Suntory Limited Kanamori

The present invention provides a novel lipase with a molecular weight of about 32 kDa, which is produced by a strain belonging to the genus, as well as a gene encoding the same. This lipase has the ability to recognize a medium-chain fatty acid as a substrate. The present invention also provides a novel lipase with a molecular weight of about 40 kDa, which is produced by a strain belonging to the genusand has the ability to recognize both a medium-chain fatty acid and a long-chain fatty acid as substrates, as well as a polynucleotide encoding the same. The present invention further providessp. strain NITE P-154. The lipase of the present invention can be used as an immobilized enzyme and is useful in fields such as production of digestants and/or flavorings, production of clinical laboratory reagents, detergent enzymes and/or fats, as well as production of optically active intermediates for agricultural chemicals and pharmaceutical preparations.

Lipase

The present invention provides asp. strain SD212-derived peptide having &#x3b2;-ionone ring-2-hydroxylase activity and a gene encoding the same, to thereby make it possible to produce rare carotenoids in which a hydroxyl group is introduced at the position 2(2') carbon in their &#x3b2;-ionone ring in large quantities. The present invention also provides a novel gene encoding an enzyme which introduces a hydroxyl group at the position 3(3&#x2032;) carbon in the &#x3b2;-ionone ring of carotenoids, and a novel gene encoding a geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase.

Carotenoid hydroxylase gene, method for preparing hydroxylated carotenoid, and novel geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase

Growing community of inventors

Kamaishi, Japan

Hiroaki Kasai