Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.

Toshifumi Yamaki

Toshihiro Oikawa

Takeshi Nakamura

Kiyoshi Ito

Teruo Arii

Tomoyuki Ando

Hironori Komatsu

Atsushi Sakuma

Hiroki Ishibashi

Yasushi Fukuiri

Hitoki Miyake

Hideki Umetani

Kazuhiko Togashi

Miyuki Tsuruoka

Hideki Kobayashi

Shinichi Banba

Tsuyoshi Inoue

Eishi Tanaka

Kaori Matoishi

Masami Osabe

Katsuyuki Takahashi

The amino acid sequence of a mutant which is obtained by introducing a novel mutation into aJCM3095-derived nitrile hydratase consisting of two types of heterogeneous subunits, and the base sequence of the gene are provided. The nitrile hydratase is modified by specifying the region to be modified in the stereostructure/amino acid sequence of the nitrile hydratase, and applying alteration such as substitution, insertion, deletion or the like, to the amino acids in the amino acid sequence which are corresponding to the amino acid residues forming the region. Also provided is a method for modifying an enzyme having a nitrile hydratase activity.

Nitrile hydratase variant

A novel gluconate dehydratase derived fromand a gene encoding the gluconate dehydratase are provided. By reacting the gluconate dehydratase or a transformed cell containing the gene with an aldonic acid, the corresponding 2-keto-3-deoxyaldonic acid can be efficiently produced.

Gluconate dehydratase

This invention provides a novel D-aminoacylase obtained by cloning a DNA encoding the novel D-aminoacylase from Methylobacterium mesophilicum MT 10894, etc. and which shows sufficiently high activity at an industrially useful substrate concentration to allow a D-amino acid to be efficiently produced from an N-acyl-DL-amino acid; a DNA encoding the D-aminoacylase; a process for producing a D-amino acid from the corresponding N-acylamino acid using a transformant containing the DNA.

DNA encoding novel D-aminoacylase and process for producing D-amino acid by using the same

The present invention provides the amino acid sequence and base sequence of a Pseudonocardia thermophila-derived nitrile hydratase, provides further a method for changing its amino acid sequence and base sequence without substantially changing the functions of said nitrile hydratase, and nitrile hydratases having a base sequence and an amino acid sequence as changed on the basis of said method, and provides furthermore a recombinant plasmid having the gene of said nitrile hydratase, a transformant containing said recombinant plasmid, a method of using said transformant for producing said enzyme, and a method of using said transformant for producing the corresponding amide compound from a nitrile compound.

Nitrile hydratase

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Mobara, Japan

Toshifumi Yamaki