CLONING AND EXPRESSION OF THE EXO-POLYGALACTURONASE GENE FROM ASPERGILLUS

Abstract: The present invention discloses a DNA sequence encoding the exo-polygalacturonase gene from Aspergillus. Specifically the Aspergillus tubigensis exo-polygalacturonase gene is cloned and expressed. The invention relates to vectors comprising the exo-polygalacturonase coding sequence and to host cells transformed with such vectors. The invention further relates to the production of recombinant exo-polygalacturonase and to the use of this protein.

Description: Cloninσ and expression of the exo-polygalacturonase gene from Aspergillus Technical field The present invention is in the field of molecular biology. Specifically, a DNA sequence encoding the exo- polygalacturonase gene from Aspergillus is cloned and expressed. The invention relates to vectors comprising the exo-polygalacturonase coding sequence and to host cells transformed with such vectors. The invention further relates to the production of recombinant exo-polygalacturonase. Furthermore, as an example of the application of this enzyme partial pectin degradation is demonstrated. Background of the invention Pectins are major constituents of the cell walls of edible parts of fruits and vegetables. The middle lamella which are situated between the cell walls are mainly built up from protopectin which is the insoluble form of pectin. Pectins are considered as intercellular adhesives and due to their colloid nature they also have an important function in the water-regulation of plants. Water-binding capacity is greatly increased by the amount of hydrophylic hydroxyl and carboxyl groups. The amount of pectin can be very high. For example, lemon peels are reported to contain pectin up to 30% of their dry weight, orange peels contain from 15-20% and apple peels about 10% (Norz, K. , 1985. Zucker und Sύsswaren Wirtschaft 3J3 5-6) . Pectins are composed of a rhamno-galacturonan backbone in which 1,4-linked α-D-galacturonan chains are interrupted at intervals by the insertion of 1,2-linked α-L- rhamnopyranosyl residues (Pilnik, W. and A. Voragen 1970. In 'The Biochemistry of fruits and their products 7 , Vol. 1 , Chapter 3, p.53. Acad. Press). Other sugars, such as D- galactose, L-arabinose and D-xylose, are present as side chains. A large part of the galacturonan residues is esterified with methyl groups at the C2 and C3 position. Pectin-degrading enzymes are important tools in the food industry. Traditionally these enzymes are used as mixtures. Aspergillus niger and other fungi produce a whole spectrum of enzymes which can advantageously be used in the degradation of pectin. Examples of such enzymes are pectin esterase, pectin lyase (also called pectin transeliminase) , endo- and exo-polygalacturonases. In A. niger the pectin degrading proteins are not expressed constitutively. Induction of these enzymes is achieved by growing the strains when carbon sources such as glucose or sucrose are limiting and in the presence of pectin or breakdown products thereof. In order to avoid the problem of induction and also to avoid obtaining not well-defined enzyme mixtures there is a growing tendency to clone the genes encoding these enzymes and to express them in other more suitable host cells. The cloning and expression of several of these enzymes obtained from Aspergillus niger has been reported. EP 0 278 355 describes the cloning of the pectin lyase gene, the sequence thereof and the expression. EP 0 353 188 adds some other pectin lyases. As mentioned above pectin contains a backbone comprising a high amount of 1,4-linked α-D-galacturonan molecules. This backbone can be digested by the action of depolymerases. Two such depolymerases are known, endo- and exo-polygalacturonase. Examples of the cloning and expression of especially the former one of these depolymerases have been reported. EP 0 421 919 discloses two polygalacturonases which can be classified as endo-polygalacturonases. Another endo- polygalacturonase has been disclosed in EP 0 388 593. Both of these patent application used Aspergilli as the source of the gene. Exo-polygalacturonases are not so abundant as the endo- form as evidenced by the reports about this enzyme published so far. Mill (Biochem. J. 9£ : 557-561 and 562-565 (1966)) reported the isolation and characterization of two distinct exo-polygalacturonases. One of these was found to be mercury activated. This was confirmed by Hara et al. (Nippon Shokuhim Kogyo Gakkashi 3_1 : 581-586 (1984)). Kester and Visser (Biotechn. Appl. Biochem, 12: : 150-160 (1990)) report the presence of only one exo-polygalacturonase and 5 endo- polygalacturonases in A. niger culture filtrates. Finally, the cloning of exo-polygalacturonase from Erwinia chrvsanthemi EC16 has been reported (He and Collmer J. Bacteriol. 172 : 4988-4995 (1990)). Exo-polygalacturonase is capable of converting polygalacturonides to galacturonic acid. To enhance this process it is advantagous to use pure exo-polygalacturonase. Galacturonic acid can be used as a source for different synthetic reactions it has for example been found to be useful in the production of ascorbic acid. Summary of the invention The present invention provides an isolated recombinant DNA sequence encoding exo-polygalacturonase. Preferably the exo-polygalacturonase is obtained from Aspergilli. more preferably it is obtained from Aspergillus tubigensis or from Aspergillus niger. The invention also provides an expresssion cassette containing a DNA sequence encoding the exo- polygalacturonase. Such an expression cassette contains appropriate regulatory regions i.e. a promoter, optionally an enhancer, a terminator. The cassette may also contain a selection marker encoding gene. In a further aspect of the invention the expression cassette forms part of a vector. The invention also provides recombinant host cells transformed with the vector containing the exo- polygalacturonase encoding DNA. The invention further provides isolated recombinant exo-polygalacturonase. The invention also discloses a method for the production of exo-polygalacturonases. The invention shows how the exo-polygalacturonase can be purified. The invention further discloses a method for obtaining galacturonic acid comprising the use of exo- polygalacturonase. Finally, the invention describes the use of exo- polygalacturonase in the treatment of pectin. Description of the Figures Figure 1 shows the oligonucleotide mixtures derived from N- terminal amino acid sequences from cyanogen bromide fragments of A^_ tubigensis exo-polygalacturonase PGX. These DNA probes have been used in hybridization experiments to detect the pgaX gene. Figure 2 shows the restriction map of the A. tubigensis pgaX gene. The open arrow indicates the location and orientation of the gene. Figures 3 and 4 show the results of the use of exo-PG versus Rohament PL for reducing the calcium sensitivity of pectin. X-axis shows molecular weight change (in kD) and Y-axis shows viscosity (in centipoise) . The dosages of enzyme in mg per g pectin are printed next to the data points, o = Rohament PL, + = exo-PG , = average of blanks. Detailed description of the invention The present invention discloses purified and isolated DNA sequences which encode a polypeptide having the activity of the Aspergillus tubigensis PGX enzyme the seqence is characterized in that it comprises the sequence of SEQ ID No.l, genetic variants of the sequence of SEQ ID NO 1 are likewise considered to be part of the invention as are DNA sequences encoding for the same a ino acid sequence but altered making use of the degeneracy of the genetic code. Further included in the present invention are DNA sequences capable of hybridizing with the sequence of SEQ ID No. 1 or with parts thereof. The invention also discloses DNA constructs containing a DNA sequence encoding PGX wherein the protein encoding sequence is operably linked to regulatory regions capable of directing the expression of said DNA sequence in a suitable host organism. The invention further discloses DNA vectors containing the DNA constructs encoding PGX. Transformed microbial host cells containing the vectors are disclosed and the host cells are shown to produce exo- polygalacturonase under suitable growth conditions. The present invention discloses a method for obtaining expression of exo-polygalacturonase comprising, culturi g the microbial host under conditions wherein the cloned gene is expressed. A method is also disclosed for obtaining exo- polygalacturonase comprising the steps of culturing the transformed microbial host under conditions giving rise to the expression of the DNA sequence of and recovering the polypeptide. The invention also discloses the use of a polypeptide obtained through the expression of the cloned pgaX gene to degrade pectin. It is shown in the present invention that the pectin can be specifically treated using the exo- polygalacturonase. It is disclosed that this enzyme reduces the calcium sensitivity without at the same time reducing th molecular weight of pectin. Furthermore, the invention provides purified an isolated expression and transcription regulatory regions a found in the 5'non-coding sequences of the Aspergillu tubigensis pgaX gene. The present invention describes a method for obtainin a gene encoding an Aspergillus exo-polygalacturonase. Th method can be summmarized as follows. An Aspergillus strain, which may be selected from th group comprising A. niger. A. awamori and A. tubigensis is grown under conditions wherein the carbon source is limite and wherein pectin or fragments thereof are offered as substrate. These growth conditions give rise to the production of pectin degrading enzymes. Following sufficient growth time allowing for the accumulation of the different enzymes the cells are harveste and the enzymes are isolated from the medium. After suitable identification the exo-polygalacturonase is purified and sequenced. This sequencing may be performed on the complete protein molecule it may however also be performed on fragments obtained after separation of the peptides following peptidase digestion of the complete protein. Once the amino acid sequence or parts thereof are determined, suitable sequences are selected for choosing DNA probes. The probes are used against a genomic library of the desired Aspergillus strain. The hybridizing clones are selected and the DNA fragments contained therein are sequenced. The sequence is further completed by adding the rest of the sequence. Suitable expression regulating sequences are then cloned upstream from the coding region. This depends on the preferred expression host cell. Expression is thus made constitutive. The cloned gene is expressed and the medium can be used as such in the degradation of pectin. Preferably, the protein is isolated and used in the desired process. Alternative ways for cloning, detecting, screening and expressing the gene are known and are expected to give similar results. Among these methods are methods using expression cloning combined with immunological detection, another method would be the use of PCR to amplify the DNA encoding the exo-polygalacturonase gene, this presupposes however that at least a part of the gene sequence is known. Reaction of the exo-polygalacturonase of the present invention with pectin or pectin-like substrates gives rise to the production of galacturonic acids in monomeric or dimeric form. Galacturonic acid can for example be used in the synthesis of ascorbic acid. Unlike known processes the use of exo-polygalacturonase in pure form gives rise to less by¬ product formation. Furthermore, the exo-polygalacturonase of the present invention can be used in combination with pectinesterase, pectinase and other pectin degrading enzymes. It is further shown in the examples that exo-polygalacturonase can be used to treat pectin during this treatment the viscosity of the pectin is reduced without reducing the molecular weight of this polymer. Experimental Throughout this description the following strains an vectors are employed: Strains: E. coli JM101 (Yanisch-Perron et aJL. , 1985) : thi , ό f lac-supE . pro AB) , [F ' , traD36 . pro AB, lacI q ZOM15 ] Ei. coli LE 392 (Murray, 1977 ) : F '1 hsdR574 (r k + ,m k + ), sup44. supF58, lacYl. or flaclZY.6 galK2. galT22, etBl, trpR55, λ " Aspergillus niger N402: cspAl Aspergillus niger N593: cspAl. pyrA6 Aspergillus tubigensis NW756 Aspergillus tubigensis NW218: pyrA22 Aspergillus nidulans G191: pabaAl. pyrG89. fwAl, uaY9 Vectors: pEMBL18/pEMBL19 (Dente et al. , 1983) Example 1 Purification and characterization of Aspergillus tubigensi exo-polygalacturonase PGX Example 1.1 Purification of Aspergillus tubigensis exo-polygalacturonas PGX A culture filtrate (3000 ml) was obtained by th culturing of Aspergillus niger strain NW756 (late reclassified as more likely belonging to the species A. tubigensis (Kusters-van Someren et al. (1991)) in a medium containing (per liter) 7.5 g NH 4 N0 3 , 1.5 g KH 2 P04, 0.5 g KC1, 0.5 g MgS0 4 .7H 2 0, 2 g yeast extract, trace elements according to Vishniac and Santer (1957) and 10 g degraded polygalacturonic acid as carbon source, pH 6.0. Polygalacturonic acid was degraded as follows : 40 g polygalacturonic acid (United States Biochemical Corp.) was dissolved in two liters 20 mM sodium acetate buffer pH 4.8 and incubated with 4000 Units of purified A_j_ niger endopolygalacturonase II, of which the purification is described by Kester and Visser (1990), for 24 hours at 30 β C. The pH of the medium was adjusted to 6.0 following inoculation at 10° spores/ml and incubation at 30"C in an orbital shaker at 250 rpm for 55 hours. The culture fluid was passed through cheese cloth and the filtrate was brought to 10 mM sodium acetate, adjusted to pH 4.0 and loaded on a crosslinked alginate column (100 ml) in 20 mM sodium acetate buffer pH 4.0. The non-bound fraction which contained a mixture of residual endo-PG activity and exo-polygalacturonase activity was concentrated by batch wise adsorption on DEAE Sephadex A- 50 (200 g wet weight) at pH 6.0 followed by pulse elution with 1 M NaCl in 20 mM sodium phosphate buffer pH 6.0 and dialysis against the same buffer without the salt. The dialysate was loaded on a DEAE-Sepharose Fast Flow column (2.5 x 10 cm) equilibrated in 10 mM bisTris/HCl buffer pH 5.5. After elution with a 800 ml linear sodium chloride gradient (0-0.5 M) , fractions were assayed for polygalacturonase activity and screened for exo-poly¬ galacturonase activity by a TLC method. This method consists of incubation of samples of the column fractions with 1 % (w/v) polygalacturonic acid in 0.1 M sodium acetate buffer pH 4.2 at 30°C followed by analysis of the reaction products by thin layer chro atography as described by Kester and Visser (1990) . Exo-polygalacturonase positive fractions were pooled, dialyzed against 20 mM sodium acetate buffer pH 4.0 and loaded on a S-Sepharose Fast Flow column (2.5 x 7 cm) equilibrated in the same buffer. Elution was done with a 600 ml linear sodium chloride gradient (0-0.5 M) . Final purification was accomplished by repeated chromatography on a MONO Q column (Pharmacia, Uppsala, Sweden) in 20 mM piperazine/HCl buffer pH 6.0. Exo- polygalacturonase containing fractions were diluted five times with water loaded on the column and eluted with a 40 ml linear sodium chloride gradient (0-0.2 M) at a flow rate of 2 ml/minute. A summary of the specific activity and recovery of the enzyme during purification is given in Table I. Table I. Purification of exo-polygalacturonase PGX from A. tubigensis NW756 Total Total Specific Volume activity protein activity Yield Step (ml) (units) ( g) (units/mg) (%) Culture fluid 3000 5230 300 17.4 100 Polygalacturonase activity was determined by measuring the release of reducing sugars in a reaction mixture containing 0.25 % (w/v) polygalacturonic acid in 0.1 M sodium acetate buffer pH 4.2 at 30°C. Reducing end groups were determined by the neocuproine method described by Stephens et al. (1974) . One activity unit was defined as the amount of enzyme which produces one μmole of reducing sugars per minute. The apparent molecular mass of exo-polygalacturonase PGX, as determined by SDS-PAGE on a 10 % gel, was 78 kDa. After deglycosylation of the enzyme with N-glycanase (Genzyme, Cambridge, Mass.) according to the supplier instructions the molecular weight was reduced to 52 kDa. Isoelectric focussing resulted in five distinct bands, all showing exo-polygalacturonase activity, in the pH range 3.7-4.4. Example 1.2 Amino acid sequence determination of the N-termini of cyanogen bromide released peptides of exo-polygalacturonase PGX Approximately 150 μg of exo-polygalacturonase PGX, purified as described in Example 1.1, was extensively dialysed against distilled water, lyophylized and dissolved in 100 μl 70 % (v/v) formic acid-water mixture. To this protein solution 500 μg cyanogen bromide (2500 molar excess) , dissolved in the formic acid-water mixture, was added. The reaction was performed for 24 hours at room temperature after which the reaction mixture was diluted 10 fold with water following lyophylization. Approximately one half of the reaction mixture was subjected to electrophoresis on a 15 % polyacrylamide gel, followed by blotting onto Immobilon-P membrane (Millipore) according to the method described by Matsudaira (1987) . Membrane slices containing fragments with a molecular mass of 30 kD (CB 1), 27.5 kD (CB 2) and 23.5 kD (CB 3) respectively were used in gas-phase sequencing (Applied Biosystems model 470A protein sequencing, SON, Leiden) according to the program described by Amons (1987) . The following N-terminal amino acid sequences were determined: CB 1 (L2278) : 1 5 10 Ala- (Arg) -Ile-Lys-Val- (Trp) -Pro-Gly-Thr-Pro-Ser-Ala- (Leu) -?• (Ala) (Formula 1) = (SEQ ID NO: 1) CB 2 (L1742) : 1 5 10 (Gly)-Ile-Ile-Gly-Leu-Asn-Gly-Gly-Thr-Ile-Gly-Pro-Leu-Lys- 15 20 Leu- (Arg) -Tyr-Ser-Pro-Gln (Formula 2) = (SEQ ID NO: 2) CB 3 (L1743) : 1 5 10 Phe-Ser- (Leu) -Ser-?-Glu-Ala-Ala- (Thr) -Gly-Pro-Lys-Lys- (Pro) -Phe-?-? Leu- (Leu) (Formula 3) = (SEQ ID NO: 3) Example 2 Screening of the genomic library of Aspergillus niger DS16813 (CBS 323.90; later classified as Aj_ tubigensis) for the exo- polygalacturonase gene (pgaX) and isolation of the gene Example 2.1 Synthesis of a pgaX specific PCR fragment using oligonucleotide mixes derived from PGX amino acid sequences. The amino acid sequences determined in Example 1.2 (Formulas 1, 2 and 3) were used to synthesize oligonucleotide mixes corresponding to the coding and the non-coding DNA strands. The oligonucleotides are synthesized by the phosphora idite method, using an Applied Biosystems oligonucleotide synthesizer. The oligonucleotide mixes (Figure 1) were used in PCR with chromosomal DNA of Aj_ tubigensis NW756 as template. All possible combinations of two oligonucleotide mixtures (100 pmole each) were used in reactions also containing 0.5 μg chromosomal A^ tubigensis NW756 DNA, 200 μM dNTPs, Taq buffer (Sphaero-Q) and 0.5 U Taq polymerase (SuperTaq, Sphaero-Q) . Conditions for PCR were 25 cycles of melting at 94°C (1 minute) , annealing at 40 β C (1 minute) and polymerization at 72°C (2 minutes). The reaction products were analyzed by electrophoresis using a 2% TAE-agarose gel. Only the combination of oligonucleotide mixture 3059 and 3062 resulted in a reaction product, which was approximately 600 bp in length. This PCR fragment was purified using a the Magic PCR Preps DNA purification system (Promega) following the instructions of the manufacturer. Example 2.2 32 P labelling of DNA fragments After purification, the DNA concentration of the PCR fragment described in Example 2.1 was determined. 50 ng was labelled by random priming using the Prime-a-Gene kit from Promega. To remove the unincorporated a-32P-dATP from the mixture, the volume was increased to 100 μl with TE buffer, after which the unincorporated α-32P-dATP was removed by fractionation on a Sephadex G50 column. Fractions containing the radioactively labelled DNA were denatured by incubation for three minutes at 100°C, and kept single stranded by rapidly chilling on ice, before addition to a hybridization buffer containing 6 x SSC, 5 x Denhardt's solution, 0.1% sodium pyrophosphate and 100 μg/ml heat-denatured herring sperm DNA. This probe was used in the screening of the genomic library (Example 2.3) and in Southern blot analysis (Examples 2.4, 2.5 and 5.1) . Example 2.3 Screening of the Aspergillus tubigensis genomic library for the pgaX gene To screen for the pgaX gene in an Aspergillus tubigensis genomic library, constructed as described in case EP 0 463 706 Al, Example 2, 5.10 3 pfu per plate were plated in LM top agarose containing 0.7% agarose on 8 85 mm diameter LM (1.2% agar) plates as described (Maniatis et al. , 1982, pp. 64) . E___ coli LE392 were used as plating bacteria. After incubation of the plates overnight at 37 β C, two replicas of each plate were made on nitrocellulose filters (Schleicher and Schύll BA85) as described in Maniatis et al. (1982, pp. 320-321). After baking the filters for 2 hours at 80 ° C, the filters were prehybridized at 65 β C for two hours in a prehybridization buffer containing 6xSSC, 0.5 % SDS, lOxDenhardt's solution and 100 μg/ml heat denatured herring sperm DNA (Boehringer) . The heat-denatured probe was added and the filters were hybridized for 18 hours at 65°C. After hybridization, the filters were first washed in 2 x SSC, 0.5% SDS, and then in 0.2 x SSC, 0.5% SDS at 65"C. The air dried filters were taped onto a sheet of Whatman 3MM paper, keying marks were made with radioactive ink and the Whatman paper and filters were covered with Saran Wrap™. Hybridizing plaques were identified by exposure of Kodak XAR X-ray film for 18 hours at -70°C using an intensifying screen. Twelve plaques hybridizing with the PCR probe, appearing in duplicate on the replica filters, were identified: λ 1 to λ pga 2. Each positive plaque was removed from the plate using a Pasteur pipette and the phages were eluted from the agar plug in 1 ml of SM buffer containing 20 μl chloroform, as described in Maniatis et al. (1982, pp. 64) . The phages obtained were purified by repeating the procedure described above using filter replicas from plates containing 50-100 plaques of the isolated phages. After purification, the phages were propagated by plating 5xl0 3 phages on LM medium. After incubation overnight at 37°C, confluent plates were obtained, from which the phages were eluted by adding 5 ml SM buffer and storing the plate for 4 hours at 4°C with intermittent shaking. After collection of the supernatant, the bacteria are removed from the solution by centrifugation at 4,000 x g for 10 minutes at 4°C. Chloroform (0.3%) was added to the supernatant and the number of pfu was determined. These phage stocks contained approximately 10 10 pfu/ml. Example 2.4 Isolation of DNA from bacteriophage lambda Eight of the isolated phages λ χ 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 11 were propagated as described in Example 2.2 using five plates for each of the phages. The phages were precipitated from the thus-obtained supernatant (25 ml) by addition of a equal volume of a solution containing 20% PEG-6000 (w/v) an 2 M NaCl, followed by thorough mixing and incubation on ic for 60 minutes. The precipitated phages were collected b centrifugation at 14,000 x g at 4°C for 20 minutes. Th supernatant was removed by aspiration. The phages wer carefully resuspended in 4 ml SM buffer and extracted onc with chloroform. Prior to extracting the DNA from the phage particles, DNA and RNA originating from the lysed bacteria were remove by incubation of the phage suspension with DNase I and RNas A (both 100 μg/ml) for 30 minutes at 37°C. The phage DNA wa subsequently released from the phages by extraction with a equal volume of phenol/chloroform (1:1). After separation o the phases by centrifugation using a Sorvall centrifug (14,000 x g, 10 minutes), the aqueous phase was extracte once with an equal volume chloroform. The phases wer separated by centrifugation (Sorvall centrifuge, 14,000 x g, 10 minutes) after which the DNA was precipitated from th aqueous phase by the addition of 0.1 volume 3 M sodiumacetat and 2 volumes ethanol. After mixing, the DNA was recovered b centrifugation in a Sorvall centrifuge for 10 minutes at 4" (14,000 x g) . The supernatant was removed by aspiration after whic the DNA was resuspended in 400 μl TE buffer. The DNA wa precipitated once again from this solution by the addition o 0.1 volume 3 M sodium acetate and 2 volumes ethanol. The DN was collected by centrifugation for 10 minutes at 4°C (14,00 x g) . The supernatant was removed by aspiration, th remaining pellet was briefly dried under vacuum, after whic the DNA was resuspended in 125 μl TE buffer containing 0. μg/ml RNase A. This purification procedure resulted in th isolation of approximately 10-50 μg DNA from each phage. Example 2.5 Restriction analysis of pgaX containing phages The isolated DNA of phages λ χ 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 11 was analyzed by Southern analysis using the following restriction enzymes: PvuII and Hindi. The DNA was digested for 3 hours at 37°C in a reaction mixture composed of the following solutions; 3 μl (« 1 μg) DNA solution; 10 μl of the appropriate 10 x React buffer (BRL) ; 20 U restriction enzyme (BRL) and sterile distilled water to give a final volume of 100 μl. After digestion the DNA was precipitated by the addition of 0.1 volume 3 M NaAc and 2 volumes ethanol. The DNA was collected by centrifugation for 10 minutes at room temperature (14,000 x g) . The supernatant was removed by aspiration, the remaining pellet was briefly dried under vacuum and resuspended in sterile distilled water. After addition of 4 μl DNA loading buffer the samples were incubated for 10 minutes at 65"C and rapidly cooled on ice. Samples were loaded on a 0.6% agarose gel in TAE buffer. The DNA fragments were separated by electrophoresis at 25 V for 15-18 hours. After electrophoresis the DNA was transferred to nylon membrane (Gene Bind 45, Pharmacia LKB) by Southern blotting as described in Maniatis et al. (1982) and subsequently prehybridized and hybridized using the labeled PCR fragment as described in Example 2.1 and hybridization conditions as described in Example 2.2. The hybridization pattern was obtained by exposure of Kodak XAR-5 X-ray film for 18 hours at -70°C using an intensifying screen. From the results obtained it was concluded that the DNA of all isolated clones hybridize with the PCR fragment. Two clones appeared to be identical and contained a very large hybridizing PvuII fragment. No hybridizing Hindi fragment was detected, suggesting that this fragment was too small and had run off the gel. In six clones fragments originating from the same genomic region were found. In a more extensive Southern analysis, using the enzymes Xhol, PvuII. Pstl. Bglll. Sail. EcoRI and BamHI a partial restriction map of this genomic region was constructed. From this experiment it was concluded that a 5.8 kb Xhol fragment contains the A^. tubigensis pgaX gene. Example 2.6 Subcloning of the A. tubigensis pgaX gene From phage λ χ 7 the 5.8 kb Xhol fragment was isolated by digesting the phage DNA with Xhol and separation of the fragments as described in Example 2.4. The fragment was cut from the agarose gel, after which it was recovered from the agarose using GeneClean (BiolOl) as described by the manufacturer. The DNA was dissolved in 10 μl sterile water and the concentration was determined by agarose electrophore¬ sis, using lambda DNA with a known concentration as a reference and ethidiumbromide staining to detect the DNA. The fragment obtained was ligated in the vector pEMBL19 digested with Sail and dephosphorylated with alkaline phosphatase prepared as follows; 1 μl (1 μg/μl) pEMBL19 was mixed with 2 μl 10 x React 10 (BRL), 1 μl (1 U/μl) Sail and 16 μl sterile distilled water. The DNA was digested for 1 hour at 37°C, after which 0.5 μl alkaline phosphatase (1 U/μl) (Pharmacia LKB) was added followed by further incubation at 37°C for another 10 minutes. The 5.8 kb Xhol fragment was ligated in the vector resulting in the plasmid pIM362, by the following procedure: 100 ng pEMBL19 fragment was mixed with 100 ng 5.8 kb Xhol fragment and 4 μl 5 * ligation buffer (BRL) and 1 μl (1.2 U/μl) DNA ligase (BRL) was added to this mixture in a final volume of 20 μl. After incubation for 16 hours at 4°C, 10 μl of the mixture was used to transform E^. coli JM101 competent cells, prepared by the CMl, CM2 method as described in the Pharmacia Manual for the M13 cloning/sequencing system. One of the resulting colonies was grown overnight in LB medium containing 100 μg/ml ampicillin. From the culture plasmid DNA was isolated by the alkaline lysis method as described by Maniatis et al. (1982, pp. 368-369), which was used in restriction analysis, as described in Example 2.4 to check whether it harboured the desired plasmid. Plasmid DNA was isolated on a large scale from 500 ml cultures E___. coli JM101 containing the plasmid pIM362 grown in LB medium containing 100 μg/ml ampicillin (Maniatis et aJL. , 1982, p.86) The plasmid was purified by CsCl density gradient centrifugation, phenolized, ethanol precipitated and dissolved in 400 μl TE. The yield was approximately 500 μg. Similarly, a 4.0 kb PvuII fragment which is located within the 5.8 kb Xhol fragment, was isolated from phage 7, subcloned in pEMBL19 digested with Smal, resulting in plasmid pIM361. The plasmid pIM361 was further analyzed by restriction enzymes resulting in the restriction map shown in Figure 2. Plasmids pIM361 and pIM362 containing the exo-PG gene have been deposited in E.coli JM101 at the Centraal Bureau voor de Schimmelcultures in Baarn, The Netherlands and have received the deposition number CBS 101.93 and CBS 102.93, respectively. Example 3 Characterization of the Aspergillus tubigensis pgaX gene Example 3.1 Sequence determination of the A. tubigensis pgaX gene The sequence of the A___ tubigensis pgaX gene was determined by subcloning fragments from pIM362 in pEMBL18/19, in combination with the use of specific oligonucleotides as primers in the sequencing reactions. For nucleotide sequence analysis restriction fragments were isolated as described in Example 2.5 and then cloned in pEMBL18/19 vectors digested with the appropriate restriction enzymes, as described in Example 2.5. The nucleotide sequences were determined by the dideoxynucleotide chain- termination procedure (Sanger et al. , 1977) using the Pharmacia T 7 DNA polymerase sequencing kit. Computer analysis was done using the PC/GENE program (Intelligenetics, Inc.: Madison WI) . The sequence was determined for 98% in both orientations Sequence Listing) . The sequence includes about 640 bp of the 5' and 655 bp of the 3' sequence. Example 3.2 The A. tubigensis pgaX gene structure There are probably 6 introns present in the gene. This is based on the appearance of in- frame stopcodons in all of the introns and on the presence of intron consensus sequences (Table II) . Table II. Intron sequences of the pgaX gene. The pgaX gene encodes a secreted protein of 47.1 kD and an iso-electric point of 4.11. The calculated molecular weight is lower than the one determined by SDS-PAGE (78 kD) , even after deglycosylation (52 kD) (there are 12 possible N- glycosylation sites in PGX) . Discrepancies between calculated and determined molecular weights have also been found for other proteins. All three CNBr fragments are found in the sequence. L1743 appears to represent the N-terminal amino acid sequence of the mature exo-PG protein: no methionine is found immediately preceding the phenylalanine (F) , which would have been expected if it were a true CNBr fragment. Instead a sequence with the characteristics of a signal sequence is found. According to the computer program PC-GENE the preferred signal sequence splice site is between serine (S 24) and arginine (R 26) , however, since these amino acids are found in the mature protein, this is not the case. The splice site between the alanine (A 22) and phenylalanine (F 23) is second best. Example 4 Expression of the pgaX gene in Aspergillus niger N593, Aspergillus tubigensis NW218 and Aspergillus nidulans G191 Example 4♦1 Introduction of the pgaX gene into Aspergillus niger N593, Aspergillus tubigensis NW218 and Aspergillus nidulans G191 by cotransformation The plasmids pIM361 and pIM362, obtained in Example 2.5, were introduced in A.niger. A. tubigensis and A. nidulans by cotransformation of ______ niger N593, ______ tubigensis NW218 and A_j_ nidulans G191 using the A^. niger pyrA gene as a selective marker on the plasmid pGW635 (Goosen et a!. , 1989) and the plasmids pIM361 and pIM362 as the cotransforming plasmids in separate experiments. Protoplasts were prepared from mycelium by growing A. niger N593 and ______ tubigensis NW218 on minimal medium supplemented with 0.5% yeast extract, 0.2% casamino acids, 50 mM glucose and 10 mM uridine for 20 hours at 30°C. For the preparation of protoplasts A^. nidulans G191 was grown at 37°C on the same medium supplemented with 1.35 mg/1 p- aminobenzoate. The preparation of protoplasts and the transformation procedures were performed as described by Goosen et al. , 1987. The resulting pyr + transformants were then analyzed for the expression of the pgaX gene by Western blot analysis. Example 4.2 Screening of transformants for the expression of the pgaX gene The transformants obtained in Example 4.1 were analyzed for the formation of the pgaX gene product, the PGX protein. 10 pIM361 and 10 pIM362 A^_ niger transformants, 5 pIM361 and 5 pIM362 A_-_ tubigensis transformants and 10 pIM361 and 10 pIM362 nidulans transformants were selected and grown fo 24 hours on medium containing per liter 10 g PGII-degrade polygalacturonic acid, 7.5 g NH 4 N0 3 , 0.5 g KCl, 0.5 MgS04.7H 2 0, 1.5 g KH2P0 4 , 0.2% yeast extract, 1 ml/1 Vishniac solution and 1.35 mg/1 p-aminobenzoate for A^. nidulans onl (pH 6.0) . After growth (24 hours after inoculation) the myceliu was removed by filtration and the proteins in the cultur filtrates were analyzed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, using a gel containing 10% acrylamide. The PGX protein was detected on nitrocellulose after electroblotting and incubation with polyclonal antibodies raised against the PGX protein purified as described in Example 1.1. The antibody bound, was detected after incubation with goat-anti-mouse antibody conjugated to alkaline phosphatase, according to the Biorad instruction manual. Table III. Transformants which overproduce PGX. t=24 A. tubigensis (pIM361)4 ++ (pIM361)6 +++ (pIM362)7 A. nidulans (pIM361)6 ++ (pIM361)9 +++ (pIM362)2 ++ The amount of PGX produced as judged by Western analysis is indicated. +++: high overproduction as compared to the corresponding wild type strain. + : low overproduction as compared to the corresponding wild type strain. Table III shows the results of the Western analysis. Only A_j_ tubigensis and k___ nidulans transformants readily overproduced the PGX protein as detected by this procedure. The protein was secreted into the medium. Of the A_j_ tubigensis transformants analyzed one was selected for giving the highest yields of the PGX protein, transformant A. tubigensis NW218(pIM361)6. In a second experiment A^. tubigensis NW218 was transformed with 1 μg of pGW613 which contains the ^ . niger pyrA gene and 40 μg pIM361. The highest producer found in this experiment was NW218 (pIM361)22. Example 4.3 Overexpression of PGX in A ^. tubigensis transformants and purification and characterization of PGX PGX was purified from A^ tubigensis NW756. NW756 was grown for 48 h at 30°C in medium containing 7.5 g ammonium nitrate. 1.5 g KH 2 P0 4 , 0.5 g KC1, 0.5 g MgS0 4 -7H 2 0, 2 g yeast extract, trace elements and 1% PGII-degraded polygalacturonic acid, pH 6.0. The culture fluid was harvested by filtration and the pH (initial value 6.8) was adjusted to 6.0. The culture filtrate was stirred for one hour with DEAE-Sephadex A50 (300 g, wet weight) , equilibrated in 10 mM sodium phosphate buffer pH 6.0. The ion-exchanger was collected, poured into a column, and bound protein was eluted by a pulse of 1 M NaCl in buffer. After dialysis against 20 mM sodium acetate buffer pH 4.2 the solution was loaded on a cross- linked alginate column (0=5 cm, h=8 cm) in the same buffer followed by elution with two pulses of respectively 0.3 and 1 M NaCl in buffer. Part of the exo-PG activity did bind to the crosslinking alginate column and was eluted by the 0.3 M NaCl pulse (pool I) . The non-bound fraction was dialyzed against 20 mM sodium citrate buffer pH 3.5 and loaded on a S- Sepharose Fast Flow column (0=2.5 cm, h=25 cm) equilibrated in the same buffer followed by elution by a 600 ml NaCl gradient (0-0.6 M) (pools I, II, III). These pools all contained exo-PG activity and all also contained endo-PG activity except pool I of the S-Sepharose column. All four pools were concentrated up to 5 ml by adsorption on a small (0=1.5 cm, h=5 cm) DEAE-Sepharose Fast Flow column at pH 6.0 followed by pulse elution with 1 M NaCl in 10 mM sodium phosphate buffer pH 6.0. The final purification was done by GPC on a Sephacryl-S 200 column (0=2.5 cm, h=90 cm) in 0.1 M sodium acetate buffer pH 4.8. No endo-PG and PL activity could be detected in these final samples. crl. gen. pool I/GPC/conc. S-Seph. pool II/GPC S-Seph. pool III/GPC/conc. S.A. = specific activity Purification of PGX from transformant NW218 (pIM361)22. Cultivation was done for 50 h at 30°C in minimal mediu with ammonium nitrate as nitrogen source and 1% PGII-degrade polygalacturonic acid as carbon source. After 24 and 50 only one major protein could be detected in the culture flui as judged by Coomassie Brilliant Blue-staining following SDS- polyacylamide gel electrophoresis. Total protein in the culture filtrate was concentrated by batch wise adsorption on DEAE A50 at pH 6.0 followed by pulse elution with 1 M NaCl in 20 mM sodium phosphate buffer pH 6.0. After extensive dialysis against 20 mM sodium acetate buffer pH 3.6 dialysate was loaded onto a S-Sepharose Fast Flow column (2.5 * 20 cm) equilibrated in the same buffer. Elution was done with a linear NaCl gradient (800 ml, 0 - 0.5 M) . Fractions were screened by SDS-PAGE and based on these results two pools were formed which were used for further analysis. Based on these results the production level of PGX in this transformant (approx. 180 mg/1) is 80 fold higher than for the wild type strain NW756. After one purification step the preparation is not completely pure, but no pectin lyase and no endo-PG activity could be detected. Pool I contains a low level of pectinesterase activity. Example 4.4 Deregulated expression of the A^. tubigensis pgaX gene To make a gene fusion of the A_j_ niger N400 pki promoter and the A ^ . tubigensis DS16813 pgaX gene, first a PCR fragment was made using a primer which contains the pki Smal site and another primer containing the h__. niger pki ATG and the first 12 nucleotides of the pgaX gene (pgaX sequences are shown in small letters) : pki Smal pki-pgaX 5' 3 ' 3 ' 5' TTTTCCTTCCCGGGCAC GTTAGTAGGCAGTTCTACtctgagtgcgtg sense antisense SEQ ID NO: 6 SEQ ID NO: 7 Similarly, a PCR fragment was made using an oligo complementary to the pki-pgaX primer described above and another primer containing a Ncol site 165 bp upstream in the pgaX coding region: pki-pgaX pgaX Ncol 5' 3' 3' 5' CAATCATCCGTCAAGATGagactcacgcac cggtacctctaccgtga sense antisense SEQ ID NO: 8 SEQ ID NO: 9 Subsequently, both PCR fragments were used in a third PCR experiment with only the pki Smal primer and the pgaX Ncol primer. This resulted in a fragment of approx. 300 bp which was digested with Smal and Ncol to obtain the desired sticky ends and the fragment was then further purified. pIM361 was digested with BamHI which cuts in the pEMBL polylinker. A BamHI fragment containing the pki promoter and the Ai. niger pelB gene was cloned into this plasmid. Digestion with Ncol and Smal cut out the pelB gene as well a the 5' end of the pgaX gene and the 3' end of the pk promoter. Ligation of the Smal-Ncol PCR fragment describe above resulted in pIM365 which thus contains the A_j_ niger pk promoter fused to the A_j_ tubigensis pgaX gene. The construc was checked by sequencing, using the commercial universal an reverse primers as well as the pki-S al and pgaX-Ncol primer to sequence the PCR fragment. Kj__ tubigensis NW218 was transformed with the A^_ nige pyrA gene (pGW635, 1 μg) and pIM365 (40 μg) as cotransformin plasmid. Only two PGX overproducing transformants have bee found, NW218 (pIM365) number 52 and 59, of which 59 has th highest production level. The copynumber of pgaX in thi transformant has not yet been established. Example 5 Screening for genes related to the pgaX gene in Aspergillu niger. Aspergillus tubigensis and Aspergillus nidulans Example 5.1 Genomic hybridization of k___ niger. A. tubigensis and A^ nidulans DNA High molecular weight DNA isolated from hj_ niger N400, A. tubigensis NW756 and A ^ . nidulans WG312 as described in th published european patent application EP 0 463 706, Exampl 2.1, was digested with EcoRI, BamHI and Hindlll. Th resulting fragments were separated by agarose ge electrophoresis and transferred to nitrocellulose membrane a described by Maniatis et al. (1982, pp. 383-389). The nitrocellulose membranes were prehybridized at 60° for two hours in hybridization buffer (as described i Example 2.2, above). After prehybridization, th radioactively labelled fragment, described in Example 2.2, was added to the hybridization buffer and the hybridization was continued for 18 hours. After hybridization, the filters were washed for 60 minutes at 60 β C in 4 x SSC, 0.5% SDS followed by final washing using 2 x SSC, 0.5% SDS at 60°C. After taping the membranes to Whatmann 3MM paper and properly marking with radioactively labelled ink, the filters were covered with Saran Wrap™ and autoradiographed for 72 hours at -70"C using Kodak XAR-5 X-Ray film and Kodak X- Omatic cassettes with regular intensifying screens. The hybridization fragments found are summarized in Table IV. Table IV. Hybridizing fragments and their lengths (kb) found in Aj. niger. A. tubigensis and A^ nidulans genomic DNA using a fragment of the k___ tubigensis pgaX gene as a probe. EcoRI BamHI HindiII A. niger N400 13 9.0 2.5 6.0 1.9 4.4 * 1.6 * Ai. tubigensis NW756 5.5 23 1 2.5 12 1 9.0 " A. nidulans WG312 4.4 1.3 3.4 : strongest hybridizing fragment 1 : partially digested Example 6 Efffect of exo-polygalacturonase on calcium sensitivity and molecular weight of pectin Methods Exo-PG and Rohament PL were used in these experiments. Exo-PG was isolated from the supernatant of an A. tubigensis culture. Exo-PG was stored frozen in 20mM sodium citrate buffer pH 3.5. Exo-PG had an activity of 14.4 U/ml and a concentration of 0.31 mg/ml. No lyase and endo- polygalacturonase activities could be detected in the exo-PG solution. The activity was measured on polygalacturonic acid at a concentration of 0.25% (w/v) in 0.1 M sodium acetate pH 4.2 at 30°C. Rohament PL was obtained from Rohm GmbH (Darmstadt, Germany) . The activity was 2500 pgu/ml measured according to internal Rohm standards. Pectin used for the test system has the following characteristics: degree of ester = 71.7 (by titrimetry) , molecular weight = 117 kD, as described below, calcium sensitivity = 213, according to the test described below. Molecular weight determination for pectin Principle Molecular weight is estimated by measuring the relative viscosity of a 0.1% pectin solution using Na- hexametaphosphate. Apparatus 1. Ostwald capillary tube viscosimeters (no less than two) with 100 to 150 sec. outlet time for water (25°C) . For instance Silber Brand # 111. 2. Transparent thermostated water bath, 25.0°C ± 0.3°C. Reagents 1. Na-hexametaphosphate solution: a) 20.0 g Na-hexametaphosphate is dissolved in 1800 ml ion exchanged deaerated (boiled) water. b) pH is adjusted to 4.50 ± 0.05 with 1 M HC1. c) The solution is diluted with ion exchanged, deaerated (boiled) water until 2000 ml. Procedure 1. The viscosimeters must be cleaned appropriately. 2. Outlet time for hexametaphosphate solution is measured (section: Measuring of outlet time) on the viscosimeters used every time a new hexameta-phosphate solution is prepared and for every new working day where pectin solutions are being measured. Immediately before measuring the necessary quantity of hexametaphosphate solution is filtered through a glass filter # 3. 3. The pectin sample system for molecular weight determination is made as follows: a) Acid wash the pectin as described in the method for determination of AGA and DE (Food Chemicals Codex, 3rd Edition, Washington D.C., 1981). b) Approx. 90 g hexametaphosphate solution is weighed in a tared beaker with magnet. c) 0.1000 g acid washed pectin is gradually added while stirring. Keep stirring until the pectin is completely dissolved. d) Weigh up to 100.0 g with hexametaphosphate solution. e) Filter through a glass filter x 3. 4. For every molecular weight determination the outlet time is measured (section: Measuring the outlet time) for the pectin/hexametaphosphate solution on two different viscosimeters. Molecular weight is calculated (section: Calculation) separately for each viscosimeter using the latest measured outlet time for hexametaphosphate solution on the viscosimeter in question. 6. Should the difference between two calculated molecular weights be less than 3500 the mean value is calculated. Round off the value to the nearest multiple of 1000 and that will be the result of the method. 7. Should the difference between the two calculated molecular weights be 3500 or more the viscosimeters should be cleaned and a new measuring of outlet time for hexametaphosphate solution should be performed. Measuring the outlet time 1. The viscosimeter is rinsed twice with the sample. 2. Pour 5.00 ml of the sample in the viscosimeter and place it in the thermostated water bath at 25.0°C ± 0.3°C at least 15 minutes prior to measuring. 3. Time is measured on two outlets. Should the difference between the times be more than x seconds the measuring is repeated until you have three outlet times which differ no more than x seconds. x = 0.2 seconds on measuring hexametaphosphate solution x = 0.4 seconds on measuring samples 4. The outlet time which is needed for further calculations is the mean value of the above mentioned two or three identical or almost identical measuring results. Calculation The relative viscosity is calculated, as follows: K n r ___ ( to-^o ) K ( h- h ) Where t 0 and t n are outlet times for pectin solution and hexametaphosphate solution, respectively. The parameter K can with sufficient accuracy be fixed at 75 s 2 using Silber Brand No. Ill viscosimeter. Otherwise, K can be calculated as follows: Q x t\ K = Q + (0.226-L-t v ) where Q = volume of viscosimeter bulb in cm 3 , L = length of capillary tube in cm and t v outlet time for water in seconds. The molecular weight of pectin is calculated as follows: 1/P (n r -i)-p M = k-C where P is fixed at 6 and k is fixed at 4.7- 10" 5 mol-g " ; C is the weight percentage of pectin in the sample system - i.e. 0.1% with the numerical values inserted you will obtain: M = 1.277- 10 6 (n r 1 / 6 -l)g/mol. Literature P.E Christensen (1954) and S it and Bryant (1967) Calcium sensitivity test A calcium containing pectin solution is prepared under conditions avoiding the formation of local gels during the addition of the calcium salt to the pectin solution. The calcium salt and pectin are mixed at low pH prohibiting the reaction between calcium and pectin. This reaction is initiated by increasing the pH by adding an acetate buffer to obtain the desired pH. Reagents: 1 M HC1 1 M Acetate buffer, pH 4.75 250 mM Calcium chloride solution A pectin solution of the desired concentration i prepared in distilled water, and pH adjusted to 1.5 wit 1 M HC1. 145 g portions of this pectin solution are measured int viscosity glasses. 5 ml of the calcium chloride solution is added to the 14 g pectin solution to give a final concentration of 8.3 mM Ca With efficient stirring with a magnetic stirrer, 25 ml o the acetate buffer is added to the pectin solution to brin pH to 4.2. The magnet is taken out, and the glass is left at roo temperature (25 β C) until the next day, when the viscosity i measured with a Brookfield viscosimeter. The pectin used in the present experiments had calciu sensitivity = 213, according to this test. Test for polygalacturonase activity Two enzymes are tested in every experiment: exo-PG an Rohament PL. (1) A 1.6% pectin solution is prepared, and pH is adjuste to 3.8 with dilute NH 3 solution or dilute HC1. Th solution is kept at 38°C. (2) Three dilutions of each enzyme (in 20 mM sodium citrat buffer, pH 3.5) are prepared. The concentrations ar chosen in accordance with the expected activity of th enzymes so a considerable (but not exhaustive) reduction of the calcium sensitivity of the pectin i achieved when the test system is incubated with th enzyme dilutions as will be detailed in the followin text. Further, the concentrations of the three dilutions are in the relative proportions 1 : 2 : 4. (3) The pectin solution is split in nine portions, 95 g each. Three of these are incubated with 5 ml of each dilution of the "unknown" enzyme. Three portions are incubated with the "standard" enzyme. The remaining three portions are incubated with 5 ml water, they are referred to as "blanks". (4) All nine test systems are treated in the same way: (a) incubation at 38"C for 20 hours (b) addition of 100 ml diluted HC1, the concentration is chosen by experience so that the pH of the test system becomes 1.8 ± 0.2 (c) heating on water bath for 4 minutes at SS^C, measured from the time when 70°C was reached (this treatment should destroy the enzyme) (d) cooling to 25 β C on water bath. (5) Each of the so treated pectin solutions is split into two portions: one of these is made into - and measured as - a test system for pectin molecular weight, while the other is made into a test system for calcium sensitivity. The test system for molecular weight is 0.1% pectin in sodium hexametaphosphate solution, pH 4.5. The viscosity is measured in an Ostwald capillary and converted to (what is reported as) molecular weight by a numerical expression. Details are given above The test system for calcium sensitivity is 0.6% pectin in sodium acetate buffer with added Ca**, pH 4.4. The viscosity is measured by means of a Brookfield viscosimeter. Details may be found above. Results The results are reported in a diagram with MW-change (in kD, relative to the average of the blanks) as the x-axis and calcium sensitivity (in cp) as the y-axis. An enzyme showing desired performance, i.e. a low calcium sensitivity is achieved with almost no loss in molecular weight, wil have data points in the lower right corner of the diagram. Results of the two independent experiments are shown as Figures 3 and 4. The dosages of enzyme in mg per g pectin ar printed next to the data points. The Figures presented lead to the conclusion that: (1) The exo-PG preparations can reduce the calciu sensitivity of the pectin that was used in the tes system (2) In both experiments, data points for the exo-PGs ten to be to the lower right side of the data points for the standard (Rohament PL) in the diagrams. Figures 3 and 4. This suggests that for this particular purpose an exo-PG is more desirable in its way of action tha Rohament PL. The above data suggest that a great part of the calciu sensitivity of pectin is due to blocks situated at the non- reducing ends of some of the pectin molecules. References Amons, R. (1987) FEBS Lett. 212: 68-72. Christensen, P.E (1954) Food Research 19: 163-171. Dente, L. , Cesari, G. and Cortese, R. (1983) Nucl. Acids Res. 11: 1145-1655. Goosen, T. , Bloemheuvel, G. , Gysler, C. , de Bie, D.A. , van den Broek, H.W.J. and Swart, K. (1987), Curr. Genet. 11: 499- 503. Goosen, T., van Engelenburg, F. , Debets, F. , Swart, K. , Bos, K. and van den Broek, H.W.J. (1989) Mol. Gen. Genet. 219: 282-288. Kester, H.C.M. and Visser, J. (1990) Biotech. Appl. Biochem. 12: 150-160. Kusters-van Someren, M.A. , Samson, R.A. and Visser, J. (1991) Curr. Genet. 19: 21-26. Maniatis, T. , Fritsch, E. F. and Sambrook, J. (1982) Molecular cloning, a laboratory manual; Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York. Matsudaira, P. (1987), J. Biol. Chem. , 262: 10035-10038. Murray, N. (1977) Mol. Gen. Genet. 150: 53-58. Sanger, F., Nickelen, S. and Coulson, A.R. (1977), Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 74: 5463-5467. Smit, C.J.B. and E. F. Bryant (1967), J. of Food Science 32: 197-199. Stephens, B.G., Felkel, H.J. Jr. and Spinelli, W.M. (1974) Anal. Chem. 46: 692-696. Vishniac, W. and Santer, M. (1957), Bact. Rev. 21: 195-213. Yanisch-Perron, C. , Vieira, J. and Messing, J. (1985) Gene 33: 103-109. SEQUENCE LISTING (1) GENERAL INFORMATION: (i) APPLICANT: (A) NAME: Gist-brocades (B) STREET: Wateringseweg 1 (C) CITY: Delft (E) COUNTRY: The Netherlands (F) POSTAL CODE (ZIP) : 2611 XT (ii) TITLE OF INVENTION: Cloning and expression of the exo-polygalacturonase gene from Aspergillus (iii) NUMBER OF SEQUENCES: 15 (iv) COMPUTER READABLE FORM: (A) MEDIUM TYPE: Floppy disk (B) COMPUTER: IBM PC compatible (C) OPERATING SYSTEM: PC-DOS/MS-DOS (D) SOFTWARE: Patentin Release #1.0, Version #1.25 (EPO) (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 1: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 12 amino acids (B) TYPE: amino acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (v) FRAGMENT TYPE: internal (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE: (C) INDIVIDUAL ISOLATE: L2278 (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 1: Ala Xaa lie Lys Val Xaa Pro Gly Thr Pro Ser Ala 1 5 10 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 2: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 19 amino acids (B) TYPE: amino acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iii) ANTI-SENSE: NO (v) FRAGMENT TYPE: internal (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE: (C) INDIVIDUAL ISOLATE: L1742 (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 2: lie lie Gly Leu Asn Gly Gly Thr lie Gly Pro Leu Lys Leu Xaa Tyr 1 5 10 15 Ser Pro Gin (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 3: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 18 amino acids (B) TYPE: amino acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (v) FRAGMENT TYPE: internal (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE: (C) INDIVIDUAL ISOLATE: L1743 (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 3: Phe Ser Xaa Ser Xaa Glu Ala Ala Xaa Gly Pro Lys Lys Xaa Phe Xaa 1 5 10 15 Xaa Leu (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 4: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 2974 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: double (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic) (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iii) ANTI-SENSE: NO (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE: (A) ORGANISM: Aspergillus tubigensis (B) STRAIN: NW756 (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: exon (B) LOCATION: 640..946 (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: intron (B) LOCATION: 947..1003 (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: exon (B) LOCATION: 1004..1370 (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: intron (B) IOCATTON: 1371..1422 (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: exon (B) LOCATION: 1423..1481 (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: intron (B) LOCATION: 1482..1539 (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: exon (B) LOCATION: 1540..1940 (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: intron (B) LOCATION: 1941..1990 (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: exon (B) LOCATION: 1991..2092 (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: intron (B) LOCATION: 2093. .2144 (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: exon (B) LOCATION: 2145..2219 (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: intron (B) LOCATION: 2220..2272 (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: exon (B) LOCATION: 2273. .2320 (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: CDS (B) LOCATION: joi (640..946, 1004..1370, 1423..1481, 1540..1940, 1991..2092, 2145..2219, 2273..2320) (D) OTHER INFORMATION: /codon_star= 640 /proauct= "exo-polygalacturonase precursor 4 ' /gene= "pgaX" (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME KEY: sig peαtiάe (B) LOCATION: 640..705 (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: mat_peptide (B) LOCATION: 706. .2320 (C) IDENTIFICATION METHOD: experimental (D) OTHER INFORMATION: /prcάuct= "exo-polygalacturonase -nature enzyme" /evidencε= EXPERIMENTAL ( I) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 4 : GACTCTAGAG GATCCCCCTG TCGGCCΠTT AAATGGC TC CIAGTGGTGG TGTA ΓGTCC 60 ACGAGGCΓTG TACCACACGG AGTΓTGCACT GACCTGCAC TACCGCAAGT TTCGGGAATΓ 120 GACCTGCGCG ACAAIATGAT CIAACGGGGA TTAAAGAATA ACCGGGTATT GCTCTCTCAA 180 TTAAAATGAA AΓCATGATGC AGAAGATGGC TGGGGTAAGT TCCCTGCCAA TTCCCCAGAA 240 ACACGTTT Γ CCCCCAATCG GAΪAATCGTC TCCGACAAGC CCΓCCTATCA CA CGTCTCT 300 CGTTGCTCCT CCACGCAATC CCCCACCACC ACATTCTCCA GCAGCTAACT GTCTCCAAGT 360 GCCCCTGTTG ATTACAGGAG CAAGCCACAA GCTTAGCATA GCTCCACAGC CGTGGTGTGC 420 TCACTCCGTT TGGTCGATTT TGTΠCCCCG GAIAIGGAGT CCAGCGAACT CCCCAACTCG 480 GAGACATGGG TGGTGTGGTC AGTGTGAGCA AGACTGCGGG GGAGCAATGT CGACTCAGTG 540 CAATGGATAT AAATGCCAGT GGCGATCGTC GTTGCTCTGC GGTAATCCTG CCCAAGCTCT 600 GTCCGTGAAC CCGACTTGT CTCCTGCCAA TTACACACA ATG AGA CTC ACG CAC 654 Met Arg Leu Thr His -22 -20 GTT CTC TCG CAC ACG CTT GGC CTT CTT GCG CTA GGG GCC ACA GCA GAG 702 Val Leu Ser His Thr Leu Gly Leu Leu Ala Leu Glv Ala Thr Ala Glu -15 -10 " -5 GCC TTC TCC CGA TCC AGA GAA GCT GCC TGC GGC CCA AAA AAG CCT TTC 750 Ala Phe Ser Arg Ser Arg Glu Ala Ala Cys Gly Pro Lys Lys Pro Phe 1 5 10 15 SUBSTITUTE SHEET CGG CCT CTA CCT ACA AGC CAG AGC AGG GAC AAG ACC TGC CAT GTC CGC 798 Arg Pro Leu Pro Thr Ser Gin Ser Arg ASD Lys Thr Cys His Val Arg 20 25 30 AGC CAT GGA GAT GGC ACT GAC GAC TCT GAT TAC ATT CTC TCC GCA TTG 846 Ser His Gly ASD Gly Thr Asp Asp Ser Asp Tyr He Leu Ser Ala Leu 35 40 45 AAC CAA TGT AAC CAC GGT GGA AAG GTA GTT TTT GAT GAG GAC AAG GAA 894 Asn Gin Cys Asn His Gly Gly Lys Val Val Phe Asp Glu Asn Lys Glu 50 55 60 TAC ATT ATC GGG ACG GCA CTG AAT ATG ACC TTC CTG AAG AAC ATT GAC 942 Tyr He He Gly Thr Ala Leu Asn Met Thr Phe Leu Lys Asn He ASD 65 70 75 CTA G GTGCTTATTC TGCAGACCCA ATCAAGGTGA CCATIGACTA ACCTTATGGT 996 Leu 80 TCAACAG AG GTC CTC GGA ACA ATC TTA TTC ACT AAC GAT ACA GAC TAC 1044 Glu Val Leu Gly Thr He Leu Phe Thr Asn Asp Thr Asp-tyr 85 90 TGG CAA GCC AAC TCC TTC AAA CAG GGC TTC CAG AAC GCT ACG ACC TTC 1092 Trp Gin Ala Asn Ser Phe Lys Gin Gly Phe Gin Asn Ala Thr Thr Phe 95 100 105 110 TTC CAA CTC GGT GGT GAA GAT GTG AAT ATG TAC GGT GGT GGT ACA ATC 1140 Phe Gin Leu Gly Gly Glu Asp Val Asn Met Tyr Gly Gly Gly Thr He 115 " 120 125 AAT GGC AAC GGA CAG GTC TGG TAT GAT CTG TAT GCC GAA GAT GAT CTC 1188 Asn Gly Asn Gly Gin Val Trp Tyr ASD Leu Tyr Ala Glu ASD ASD Leu 130 135 140 ATT CTG CGT CCC ATC TTG ATG GGC ATC ATT GGG CTG AAT GGT GGC ACA 1236 He Leu Arg Pro He Leu Met Gly He He Gly Leu Asn Gly Gly Thr 145 150 155 AIT GGT CCG CTG AAG CTG CGG TAC TCG CCG CAA TAC TAC CAT TTT GTG 1284 He Gly Pro Leu Lys Leu Arg Tyr Ser Pro Gin Tyr Tyr His Phe Val 160 165 170 GCT AAC TCG TCG AAT GTG CTC TTT GAC GGG ATT GAC ATT TCG GGT TAT 1332 Ala Asn Ser Ser Asn Val Leu Phe Asp Gly He Asp He Ser Gly Tyr 175 180 185 190 AGT AAG AGC GAC AAC GAA GCC AAA AAC ACT GAT GGA TG GTGCGTTTTA 1380 Ser Lys Ser ASD Asn Glu Ala Lvs Asn Thr Asp Gly Trp 195 * 200 TCCTGCTTTA CACTGAGCGT TATACTGACC TTTTTCCCGT AG G GAT ACC TAC CGC 1435 Asp Thr Tyr Arg 205 SUBSTITUTE SHEET TCG AAC AAT ATC G T ATC CAG AAT TCG GTG ATC AAC AAC GGT GAT G 1481 Ser Asn Asn He Val He Gin Asn Ser Val He Asn Asn Gly Asp 210 215 220 GTAAGTTAAA CCTAAGTAGC GTCAIACTTC AACAATTCIA ACCTGCAAAC CTACACAG AC 1541 Asp TGT GTC TCT TTC AAG CCG AAC AGC ACC AAT ATC CTC GIT CAG AAC CTT 1589 Cys Val Ser Phe Lys Pro Asn Ser Thr Asn He Leu Val Gin Asn Leu 225 230 235 CAC TGC AAT GGC TCC CAC GGC ATT TCT GTT GGC TCT CTC GGC CAA TAC 1637 His Cys Asn Gly Ser His Gly He Ser Val Gly Ser Leu Gly Gin Tyr 240 245 250 255 AAG GAT GAG GTT GAC ATC GTT GAG AAT GTC TAT GTG TAC AAC ATC TCT 1685 Lys Asp Glu Val ASD He Val Glu Asn Val Tyr Val Tyr Asn He Ser 260 265 270 ATG TTT AAT GCT TCG GTA TGT CTG AAC TTT AAC CAT ATA ATA GAC TTC 1733 Met Phe Asn Ala Ser Val Cys Leu Asn Phe Asn His lie He Asp Phe 275 280 285 TTA CTA ACT TGG TTG CAG GAT ATG GCC CGC ATC AAG GTT TGG CCT GGT 1781 Leu Leu Thr Trp Leu Gin Asp Met Ala Arg He Lys Val Trp Pro Gly 290 * 295 300 ACT CCC TCT GCG CTA TCT GCC GAT CTT CAA GGC GGC GGT GGC TCG GGT 1829 Thr Pro Ser Ala Leu Ser Ala Asp Leu Gin Gly Gly Gly Gly Ser Gly 305 310 315 AGC GTA AAG AAT ATC ACC TAT GAC ACC GCA CTC ATT GAT AAT GTC GAC 1877 Ser Val Lys Asn He Thr Tyr ASD Thr Ala Leu He Asp Asn Val ASD 320 325 330 335 TGG GCC ATT GAA ATC ACG CAG TGC TAT GGG CAG AAG AAT ACT ACC TTG 1925 Trp Ala He Glu He Thr Gin Cys Tyr Gly Gin Lys Asn Thr Thr Leu 340 345 * 350 TGC AAC GAG TAC CCG GTTAGTAGAC CTTCAGCCGC TTTCCCGAAG CTATCCIAAT 1980 Cys Asn Glu Tyr Pro 355 ACAATAATAG AGC TCT CTC ACC ATC TCG GAC GTC CAC ATC AAG AAC TTC 2029 Ser Ser Leu Thr He Ser Asp Veil His He Lys Asn Phe 360 " 365 CGC GGT ACG ACG TCG GGA TCG GAA GAT CCC TAT GTT GGG ACA ATT GTT 2077 Arg Gly Thr Thr Ser Gly Ser Glu Asp Pro Tyr Val Gly Thr He Val 370 375 380 385 TGT TCC AGT CCT GAT GTAAGTGCCC TCCAGGATAT GCGTTTAGTG TGCAATGGCT 2132 Cys Ser Ser Pro Asp 390 SUBSTITUTE SHEET GACACTCGAT AG ACT TGC TCG GAT ATC TAT ACT TCC AAT ATT AAT GTA 21 Thr Cys Ser Asp He Tyr Thr Ser Asn He Asn Val 395 400 ' ACA AGC CCG GAT GGA ACC AAC GAC TTT GTT TGC GAT AAT GTGAGTCG C 22 Thr Ser Pro Asp Gly Thr Asn Asp Phe Val Cys Asp Asn 405 410 415 CAAGGCCAGG TGAAGATCTA AATCGGTGAC TAACGCTGTC CAG GTC GAT GAG AGT 22 Val ASD Glu Ser CTT CTG AGT GTC AAC TGC ACC GCC ACT TCT GAT TAAGTTAGAA TGCCTGTTAA 23 Leu Leu Ser Val Asn Cys Thr Ala Thr Ser Asp 420 425 430 CATGTACACT GGAGGTCAGG CCTTACTTAG ACGGATGAAG GGTGTATAIA TTCACTTTGG 23 GTTCGGCTGT GTAIATACGT GAGCAAATAA TA_K_TGTATG C TIGACTT AGGGAAGGTC 24 AGGCGATCAA GTAACITTCT GGTTCAAACC TTGATCATGG TTCTCAGTAG ACGCTCCTTC 25 TGCTTTTTGC GTTGCGATAC GTCACATGCC GAGGGAAGAA TCATTGCTTC CAGGTGCTTG 25 CGCTCTCCTG AGTGATACTG CACTTGCTGT CCAGGATACT ACATCTCTCT GCATITACCT 26 GCTGTTCATC AAACAAGCAA GCAACCTGAA GAGCCACCTA CCAAGTATAG TAGGATCIAG 26 AGCGCTCCGA GGAGATCGTG TAGACCAIAC TAGATCCTCG AAAATGTAAA TTGCAAACCA 27 TAITTCAATT CTAATΓCATC TGAAGTCΓGG CAGCGAGAIA TAIAACCGAA GTCTCTTGGA 28 ACACGAACCC TCGGCTGATG ATCGTGACCT CCIGAGTAGC ACCCAACCAG CGGACIACAA 28 GATGGACAAC GAACCTTACC CACAACCCTT AAGTACTTTG GAACCAAGTG GCAATGATTT 29 GTATTCTTTA TCGGTGTGCG TCATGCACCT CCTGCAG 29 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 5 : (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) IENGTH: 452 amino acids (B) TYPE: amino acid (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 5 : Met Arg Leu Thr His Val Leu Ser His Thr Leu Gly Leu Leu Ala Leu -22 -20 -15 -10 Gly Ala Thr Ala Glu Ala Phe Ser Arg Ser Arg Glu Ala Ala Cys Gly -5 1 5 10 Pro Lys Lys Pro Phe Arg Pro Leu Pro Thr Ser Gin Ser Arg Asp Lys SUBSTITUTE SHEET 15 20 25 Thr Cys His Val Arg Ser His Gly Asp Gly Thr Asp Asp Ser Asp Tyr 30 35 40 He Leu Ser Ala Leu Asn Gin Cys Asn His Gly Gly Lys Val Val Phe 45 50 55 Asp Glu Asp Lys Glu Tyr He He Gly Thr Ala Leu Asn Met Thr Phe 60 65 70 Leu Lys Asn He Asp Leu Glu Val Leu Gly Thr He Leu Phe Thr Asn 75 80 85 90 Asp Thr Asp Tyr Trp Gin Ala Asn Ser Phe Lys Gin Gly Phe Gin Asn 95 100 105 Ala Thr Thr Phe Phe Gin Leu Gly Gly Glu Asp Val Asn Met Tyr Gly 110 115 120 Gly Gly Thr He Asn Gly Asn Gly Gin Val Trp Tyr Asp Leu Tyr Ala 125 130 135 Glu Asp Asp Leu He Leu Arg Pro He Leu Met Gly He He Gly Leu 140 145 150 Asn Gly Gly Thr He Gly Pro Leu Lys Leu Arg Tyr Ser Pro Gin Tyr 155 160 165 170 Tyr His Phe Val Ala Asn Ser Ser Asn Val Leu Phe Asp Gly He Asp 175 180 185 He Ser Gly Tyr Ser Lys Ser Asp Asn Glu Ala Lys Asn Thr Asp Gly 190 195 200 Trp Asp Thr Tyr Arg Ser Asn Asn He Val He Gin Asn Ser Val He 205 210 215 Asn Asn Gly Asp Asp Cys Val Ser Phe Lys Pro Asn Ser Thr Asn He 220 225 230 Leu Val Gin Asn Leu His Cys Asn Gly Ser His Gly He Ser Val Gly 235 240 245 250 Ser Leu Gly Gin Tyr Lys Asp Glu Val Asp He Val Glu Asn Val Tyr 255 * 260 265 Val Tyr Asn He Ser Met Phe Asn Ala Ser Val Cys Leu Asn Phe Asn 270 275 280 His He He Asp Phe Leu Leu Thr Trp Leu Gin Asp Met Ala Arg He 285 290 295 Lys Val Trp Pro Gly Thr Pro Ser Ala Leu Ser Ala Asp Leu Gin Gly 300 305 310 Gly Gly Gly Ser Gly Ser Val Lys Asn He Thr Tyr Asp Thr Ala Leu 315 320 325 330 He Asp Asn Val Asp Trp Ala He Glu He Thr Gin Cys Tyr Gly Gin 335 340 345 Lys Asn Thr Thr Leu Cys Asn Glu Tyr Pro Ser Ser Leu Thr He Ser 350 355 360 Asp Val His He Lys Asn Phe Arg Gly Thr Thr Ser Gly Ser Glu Asp 365 370 375 Pro Tyr Val Gly Thr He Val Cys Ser Ser Pro Asp Thr Cys Ser Asp 380 385 390 He Tyr Thr Ser Asn He Asn Val Thr Ser Pro Asp Gly Thr Asn Asp 395 400 405 410 Phe Val Cys Asp Asn Val Asp Glu Ser Leu Leu Ser Val Asn Cys Thr 415 420 425 Ala Thr Ser Asp 430 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 6: (i) SEQUENCE OffiRACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 17 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic) (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iii) ANTI-SENSE: NO (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE: (C) INDIVIDUAL ISOIATE: pki Smal sense (Xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 6: TTTTCCTTCC CGGGCAC 17 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 7: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 30 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic) SUBSTITUTESHEET (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iii) ANTI-SENSE: YES ( i) ORIGINAL SOURCE: (C) INDIVIDUAL ISOIATE: pki-pgaX antisense (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 7: GTGCGTGAGT CTCATCTTGA CGGATGATTG 30 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 8: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 30 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic) (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iii) ANTI-SENSE: NO (Vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE: (C) INDIVIDUAL ISOIATE: pki-pgaX sense (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 8: CAATCATCCG TCAAGATGAG ACTCACGCAC 30 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 9: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 17 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic) (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iii) ANTI-SENSE: YES (Vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE: (C) INDIVIDUAL ISOLATE: pgaX Ncol antisense (Xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 9: SUBSTITUTE SHEET AGTGCCATCT CCATGGC 17 " (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 10: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 23 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic) (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iii) ANTI-SENSE: YES (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE: (C) INDIVIDUAL ISOLATE: 3062 (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: misc_feature (B) LOCATION: one-of(3, 6, 9, 15) (D) OTHER INFORMATION: /note= "N at position 3, 6, 9, and 15 is inosine" (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 10: GGNGTNCCNG GVCANACYTT DAT 23 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 11: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 23 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic) (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iii) ANTI-SENSE: NO (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE: (C) INDIVIDUAL ISOIATE: 3063 (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: misc_feature (B) LOCATION: one-of(9, 15, 18) (D) OTHER INFORMATION: /note= "N at position 9 , 15, and 18 is inosine" SUBSTITUTE SHEET (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 11: ATHAARGTNT GBCCNGGNAC NCC 23 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 12: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 32 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic) (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iii) ANTI-SENSE: YES (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE: (C) INDIVIDUAL ISOLATE: HR7734 (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: misc_feature (B) IDCATION: one-of(3, 9, 12, 15, 21, 23) (D) OTHER INFORMATION: /note= "N at position 3, 9, 12, 15, 21, and 23 is inosine" (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 12: GGNCCDATNG TNCCNCCRTT NARNCCDATD AT 32 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 13: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 29 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic) (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iii) ANTI-SENSE: NO (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE: (C) INDIVIDUAL ISOLATE: 3059 (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: misc_feature (B) LOCATION: one-of(9, 12, 18, 21, 24) (D) OTHER INFORMATION: /note= »N at position 9, 12 , 18 , 21, and 24 is inosine" SUBSTITUTE SHEET (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 13: ATHATHGGNY TNAAYGGNGG NACNATHGG 29 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 14: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 23 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic) (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iii) ANTI-SENSE: NO (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE: (C) INDIVIDUAL ISOLATE: 3060 (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: misc_feature (B) LOCATION: one-of(6, 9, 12, 15) (D) OTHER INFORMATION: /note= "N at position 6, 9 , 12 , and 15 is inosine" (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 14: GAGGCNGCNA CNGGNCCNAA GAA 23 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 15: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 23 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic) (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iii) ANTI-SENSE: YES (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE: (C) INDIVIDUAL ISOLATE: 3061 (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: misc_feature (B) LOCATION: one-of(6, 9, 15) (D) OTHER INFORMATION: /note= "N at position 6, 9, and 15 SUBSTITUTE SHEET - 51 - is inosine" (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 15: TTYTTNGGNC CRTTNGCNGC YTC 23 SUBSTITUTE SHEET

Claims: Claims 1. A purified and isolated DNA sequence which encodes polypeptide having the activity of the Aspergillus tubigensi PGX enzyme, characterized in that the DNA sequence comprises a) the sequence of SEQ ID No.l, b) genetic variants of the sequence of a) , c) a DNA sequence capable of hybridizing with th sequences of a) or b) or with parts thereof. 2. A DNA construct containing a DNA sequence according t claim 1, operably linked to regulatory regions capable o directing the expression of said DNA sequence in a suitabl host organism. 3. A DNA vector containing the construct of claim 2. 4. A transformed microbial host cell capable of expressin a gene encoding a protein having exo-polygalacturonas activity characterized in that the host cell contains a DN vector according to claim 3. 5. A method for obtaining expression of exo polygalacturonase comprising, culturing the microbial hos cell of claim 4 under conditions wherein the cloned gene i expressed. 6. A method for obtaining exo-polygalacturonase comprisin the steps of a) culturing the microbial host cell of claim 4 unde conditions giving rise to the expression of th DNA sequence of claim 1, b) recovering the polypeptide having PGX activity. 7. A polypeptide having PGX activity characterized in tha the polypeptide is produced by the method of claim 6. 8. Use of a polypeptide obtained according to claim 7 and having exo-polygalacturonase activity to degrade a polymer containing glucuronic acid containing residues. 9. Purified and isolated expression and transcription regulatory regions as found in the 5'non-coding sequences of the Aspergillus tubigensis pgaX gene. 10. pIM362 SUBSTITUTE SHEET

Inventors: KESTER HERMANUS CORNELIS MARIA, KUSTERS-VAN SOMEREN MARGO ANNE, MUELLER YVONNE, OOYEN ALBERT JOHANNES JOSEPH, ROLIN CLAUS, VISSER JACOB, KESTER, HERMANUS, CORNELIS, MARIA, KUSTERS-VAN SOMEREN, MARGO, ANNE-ROSE, MUELLER, YVONNE, OOYEN, ALBERT, JOHANNES, JOSEPH, ROLIN, CLAUS, VISSER, JACOB
Applicants: GIST BROCADES NV, KESTER HERMANUS CORNELIS MARIA, KUSTERS VAN SOMEREN MARGO ANNE, MUELLER YVONNE, OOYEN ALBERT JOHANNES JOSEPH, ROLIN CLAUS, VISSER JACOB, GIST-BROCADES N.V., KESTER, HERMANUS, CORNELIS, MARIA, KUSTERS-VAN SOMEREN, MARGO, ANNE-ROSE, MUELLER, YVONNE, OOYEN, ALBERT, JOHANNES, JOSEPH, ROLIN, CLAUS, VISSER, JACOB
Application year: 1993
Main classification: C12N15
IPC codes: C12N9, C12N15, C12R1