307 Characterization of Amylolytic Activities of Tulip Bulb Scales
Amylolytic activities extracted from scales of tulip (Tulipa gesneriana L. cv. Apeldoorn) bulbs stored at 4 °C for 6 weeks under moist conditions were characterized. Anion exchange chromatography of enzyme extract on DEAE-Sephacel revealed three peaks of amylolytic activity. Three enzymes showed different electrophoretic mobilties on nondenaturing polyacrylamide gels. The most abundant amylase activity was purified extensively with phenyl-agarose chromatography, gel filtration on Sephacryl S-200, and chromatofocusing on polybuffer exchanger PBE 94. The purified amylase was determined to be an endoamylase based on substrate specificity and end product analysis. The enzyme had a pH optimum of 6.0 and a temperature optimum of 55 °C when soluble starch was used as the substrate. The apparent Km value for soluble starch was 1.28 mg/ml. The inclusion of 2 mM CaCl2 in the reaction mixture resulted in a 1.4-fold increase in the enzyme activity. The presence of calcium ions also enhanced the thermo-stability of the enzyme at higher temperatures. The enzyme was able to hydrolyze soluble starch, amylose, amylopectin, and beta-limit dextrin, but it had no activity against pullulan, inulin, maltose, or p-nitrophenyl alpha-glucopyranoside. Only maltooligosaccharides, having a degree of polymerization of 7 or more, were hydrolyzed to a significant extent by the enzyme. Exhaustive hydrolysis of soluble starch with the enzyme yielded a mixture of maltose and matlooligosaccharides. This amylase activity was not inhibited by alpha- or beta-cyclodextrin upto a concentration of 10 mM. Maltose at a 50 mM concentration partially inhibited the enzyme activity, whereas glucose had no effect at that concentration.