NON-STARCH POLYSACCHARIDE HYDROLYSING ENZYMES

Abstract: The invention pertains to enzymes having xylan-degrading activity, obtainable by extraction of wheat flour, which enzymes have an apparent molecular weight between 25,000 and 68,000 Da. The enzymes have two types of endo-xylanase, beta -xylosidase and arabinofuranosidase activites. The enzymes can be obtained by extracting wheat flour using an aqueous solvent and selectively precipitating proteinaceous material from the extract obtained or from a fraction thereof, and optionally further fractionating the precipitate.

Description: NON-STARCH POLYSACCHARIDE HYDROLYSING ENZYMES FIELD OF THE INVENΗON The invention relates to non-starch polysaccharide hydrolysing enzymes, in particular xylan-degrading enzymes which are endogenously present in wheat malt, wheat kernel or fractions thereof, to a method for obtaining such enzymes, as well as to the use of these enzymes in food, feed and paper and pulp technology. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENΗON It has been known for a long time that non-starch polysaccharides (NSPs) from wheat flour have an impact on the breadmaking process (Pence et al 1950; Udy 1956, 1957; Jelaca and Hlynka 1972). It is generally accepted that NSPs bind a significant amount of water and influence the visco-elasticity of doughs (Kulp 1968a; Jelaca and Hlynka 1971). There are, however, discrepancies in literature regarding their impact on bread loaf volume, crumb characteristics, crust colour and staling of bread (DAppolonia et al 1970; D'Appolonia 1971, 1973, 1980; Casier et al 1973, 1979; Kim and D'Appolonia 1977 a,b; Meuser and Suckow 1986). NSP hydro¬ lysing enzymes are increasingly employed in the breadmaking industry (McCleary 1986; Ter Haseborg and Himmelstein 1988; Maat et al 1992). Such enzymes, when added at an optimal dosage, clearly improve the machinability of doughs and the volume and appearance of breads (Maat et al 1992; Gruppen et al 1992). NSPs also influence the digestibility of feeds rich in cereals and legumes (in particular rye or wheat). Production of sticky droppings and poor growth and feed conversion, especially in younger broilers are often related with these compounds (Moran et al 1969; Campbell et al 1983; Fengler et al 1988; Pettersson et al 1988). Addition of enzyme preparations of microbial origin capable of degrading these NSPs has been shown to considerably improve the growth and feed conversion of chicks fed rye-based diets (Fengler et al 1988; Groot Wassink et al 1989). The effect is mainly attributable to the reduction of intestinal viscosity. The use of NSP attacking enzymes in the pulp and paper industry has become more and more important (Wong et al 1988) due to their bleach boosting properties helping to replace the use of damaging bleaching agents (Farrell et al 1992, Nissen et al 1992; Wong and Saddler 1992). Other applications of these NSP hydrolysing enzymes are clarifying juices, beers and wines, extracting coffee, plant oils and starch and producing food thickeners (Wong and Saddler 1992). The NSP hydrolysing enzymes encompass a large group of enzymes, which are classified according to their substrate specificity and to their mode of action (Dekker 1979). The common sources of industrially available NSP-hydrolases are the culture media of microorganisms. Although the NSP hydrolysing enzymes from microorganisms have received a great deal of attention due to their applications as described above, the relative importance of endogenous enzymes present in wheat malt, wheat kernel or fractions thereof is described in only a limited number of reports (Preece and McDougall 1958; Kulp 1968b; Lee and Ronalds 1972; Schmitz et al 1974; Bremen 1981; Adlung 1985, Beldman et al 1995). The NSP hydrolysing activity was mostly found in the outer fractions of the kernel, mainly the bran and short fractions. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to enzymes having xylan-degrading activity, obtainable by extraction of wheat or fractions thereof, such as wheat flour, which enzymes have an apparent molecular weight between 25,000 and 68,000 Da. The enzymes have endo-xylanase, β-xylosidase and arabinofuranosidase activities. The invention also relates to a method for obtaining non-starch poly¬ saccharide hydrolysing enzymes from wheat malt, wheat kernel or fraction thereof by subjecting such preparations to fractionation steps, obtaining enzymes having enzymatic activity toward p-nitrophenyl-β-D-xylopyranoside, p-nitrophenyl-α-L- arabinofuranoside, xylan from oat spelts and arabinoxylan from wheat. Some of these enzymes from wheat flour were found to have a very specific mode of action, differ¬ ent from most microbial enzymes, and are therefore of major importance for particu¬ lar industrial applications. The invention furthermore relates to the use of these xylan-degrading enzymes, especially of the endo-xylanases, as bread improver, for the treatment of cereals, such as for animal feedstuffs, for the production of xylose, and for gluten- starch separation or syrup processing. DETAILED DESCRIPΗON OF THE INVENΗON NSP hydrolysing enzymes are a group of enzymes degrading non-starch polysaccharides. Due to the complexity and heterogeneity of non-starch polysacchar¬ ides, several types of endo- and exo-acting enzymes are known to be involved in the hydrolysis of these polysaccharides. The discussion of these enzymes will be easier with a previous description of their substrates. One of the most abundant non- starch polysaccharides in cereals is (arabino)-xylan. This polysaccharide consists of a homopolymeric backbone of 1,4-linked β-D-xylopyranose units. Depending on its origin, the backbone may be substituted. Xylans from cereals have been shown to be highly arabinosylated. The arabinofuranosyl residues are attached to the main chain by α-1,3 and/or α-1,2 glycosidic linkages. These arabinofuranosyl residues can be esterified with phenolic acids such as -coumaric and ferulic acids (4-hydroxycinna- mic acid and 4-hydroxy-3-methoxycinnamic acid, respectively). Glucuronic acid residues or their 4-O-methyl ethers are also present. The crucial enzyme for de- polymerisation of (arabino)xylan is endo-xylanase (EC 3.2.1.8), which attacks the main chain, generating non-substituted or branched xylo-oligosaccharides. The mode of action of different endo-xylanases and the hydrolysis products vary according to the source of the enzymes. Most of the endo-xylanases are generally found to hydrolyse main chain linkages at regions of the substrate not substituted with arabinose. The main chain substituents are liberated by the corresponding (exo-acting) glycosidases and esterases, as follows: α-L-arabinosyl residues by α-L-arabino- furanosidase (EC 3.2.1.55), 4-O-methyl-D-glucuronosyl residues or D-glucuronosyl residues by α-glucuronidase, -coumaric acid and ferulic acid residues by the corresponding esterases. β-Xylosidase (EC 3.2.1.37) is the enzyme component that attacks xylo-oligosaccharides generated by the action of β-xylanase and other hydrolases from the non-reducing end, liberating D-xylose as the only product of hydrolysis. β-Xylosidase is important when complete hydrolysis of (arabino)-xylan is required. The enzymes liberating (arabino)-xylan substituents act synergistically with the depolymerising β-xylanases. Debranching enzymes create new sites on the main chain for productive complex formation with β-xylanases. On the other hand, by decreasing the viscosity of the substrate solution and by increasing diffusion of the substrate as a result of the decrease in its degree of polymerization, β-xylanase facilitates the interaction of debranching enzymes with the substrate. Synergism between β-xylanase and α-L-arabinofuranosidase has been demonstrated. According to the invention, four enzymes or groups of enzymes having xylan-degrading activities from wheat flour, in particular β-xylosidase, α-arabino- furanosidase and two endo-xylanases with different mode of action, were found. The present invention also provides a method for isolation and purification of these xylan-degrading enzymes, although the invention is not restricted to these methods. A crude lyophilised aqueous enzyme extract from wheat flour is dissolved in phosphate buffer and subjected to gradual ammonium sulphate precipitation. The fraction that precipitates between 30 and 70 % ammonium sulphate saturation shows activity towards p-nitrophenyl-β-D-xylopyranoside, p-nitrophenyl-α-L-arabino- furanoside and xylan from oat spelt, indicating xylosidase, arabinofuranosidase and endo-xylanase activity respectively. Preparative anion exchange chromatography fractionates the exo-acting enzymes (xylosidase and arabinofuranosidase) from the endo-acting enzyme. Further hydrophobic interaction chromatography separates the xylosidase from the arabinofuranosidase activity. Cation and anion exchange chromatography and further purification steps results in a protein fraction with a MW around 64,000 Da and a pi of 5.5 and able to hydrolyse p-nitro-phenyl-β-D-xylo- pyranoside, and a protein fraction with a MW between 38,000 and 68,000 Da (around 40,000 and around 65,000) and a pi between 5 and 7 and able to hydrolyse p-nitrophenyl-α-L-arabinofuranoside. Anion exchange chromatography of the protein fraction after hydrophobic interaction chromatography with endo-xylanase activity yields an enzyme with a MW around 55,000 Da and a pi between 4.0 and 5.0, denoted herein as endoxylanase A. The protein fraction that precipitates between 80 and 100 % ammonium sulphate saturation shows hydrolysing activity against arabinoxylan. Using cation- exchange chromatography, a protein with MW of 30,000 Da and pi > 9.0 is obtained, further referred to as P-30,000 or endoxylanase B. The N-terminal aminoacid sequence of this protein is given in SEQ ID NO. 1 (VAIACSASGFENCEEEQPK), wherein the identity of the cysteine residues at position 5 and 13 could not be un¬ ambiguously confirmed. The N-terminal protein sequence data shows 89 and 84% homology (assuming the cysteines are confirmed) with the internal aminoacid sequence 32-50 of two clones of friabilin, a 15,000 Da grain softness protein (GSP), as deduced from the DNA sequences found by Rahman et al, 1994. These two GSP clones have the aminoacid sequences VAIAPSASGSENCEEEQPK and VAIAPSAS- GFEDCEEEHPK, respectively. This indicates that the isolated protein represents an endogenous wheat enzyme. The fraction that remains in solution after 100 % ammonium sulphate saturation of the crude wheat extract shows one clear protein band after SDS-poly¬ acrylamide gel electrophoresis under non-reducing conditions with a MW of approximately 6,500. The N-terminal protein sequence data of this protein are IDCGHVDSLVRPCLSYVQGG and show 100 % homology with the N-terminal aminoacid sequence of a phospholipid transfer protein of wheat with a MW of about 8-9,000. The invention thus provides four isolated xylan-degrading enzymes derived from wheat flour, denoted as β-xylosidase, arabinofuranosidase, endoxylanase A and endoxylanase B. These enzymes are defined by their physical properties and their activity pattern as described in the examples. They may be produced by separation from wheat flour extracts as described herein, but they may also be produced by cloning their gene into a suitable host organism, e.g. a mould (especially an jispergillus species) or a yeast, using an endogenous or exogenous promoter, cultur¬ ing the host organism under suitable, commonly used conditions, and isolating the enzymes produced by these organisms. Where reference is made to "xylan-degrad¬ ing" enzymes, this term should be understood to include enzymes degrading arabino- xylans and other polysaccharides containing arabinose and/or xylose units. Particular preference is given to the novel endoxylanase (endoxylanase B) having especially useful properties as described herein. This enzyme is further defined by reference to its N-terminal aminoacid sequence. Thus, the invention relates in particular to an endoxylanase which in its protein sequence contains at least 8 aminoacids which are in the same relative position as the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO. 1 and contains the sequence Phe-Glu-Asn. In particular its aminoacid sequence contains a contiguous series of at least 8 aminoacids corresponding to the sequence of SEQ ID NO. 1. What is defined with reference to at least 8 amino acids, applies, with increasing preference, to at least 12, 16 or even all 19 aminoacids of the sequence of SEQ ID NO. 1. The invention also pertains to the use of these enzymes, alone or in combi¬ nation, including the use in bread making and in the treatment of cereals, e.g. for the production of animal feedstuffs. Other desired uses include the production of xylose (β-xylosidase, optionally together with one or more of the other enzymes), arabinose (arabinofuranosidase, optionally also endoxylanase B), or xylo-oligosaccharides (endoxylanase A and/or B). Example 1: Enzyme purification Wheat flour (Camp Remy, 3300 g), was suspended in 9900 ml of 0.1 M sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) and stirred for 30 min. The supernatant (10,000 g, 30 min, 4°C) was dialysed (MW cut-off 3500 Da, 48 h, 4°C) against deionised water and lyophilised to produce a crude enzyme extract. Crude enzyme extract (60 g) was dissolved in 1700 ml phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) and solid ammonium sulphate (AS) was slowly added until 30% of the satura¬ tion concentration (all steps were performed at 4°C). The mixture was stirred for 30 min and left for 16 h. The precipitate was centrifuged off (10,000 g, 30 min), dis¬ solved in deionised water, dialysed for (MW cut-off 3500, 48 h) and lyophilised. This material is referred to as fraction AS 0-30. The supernatant was successively adjusted to 70%, 80% and 100% AS saturation and the precipitates separated in a similar manner (fractions AS 30-70, AS 70-80 and AS 80-100, respectively). The final supernatant was dialysed and lyophilised in the same way resulting in fraction AS >100. Fraction AS 30-70 was further fractionated by anion exchange chromato¬ graphy (Q-Sepharose HP 35/100, Pharmacia, SE; 20 mM Tris buffer pH 8.0). The column was washed with buffer and bound proteins were then eluted with a stepwise gradient of the buffer + 1.0 M NaCl. Fractions containing glycosidase (β-xylosidase and arabinofuranosidase) activity were pooled, dialysed and lyophilised to yield fraction AS 30-70 I and fractions with endo (xylanase) activity were pooled, dialysed and lyophilised to yield fraction AS 30-70 II. Fraction AS 30-70 I was further fractionated by hydrophobic interaction chromatography (Phenyl Superose HR 5/5, Pharmacia, SE; 50 mM sodium phosphate buffer pH 7.0 containing 1.2 M AS). A linear gradient from 1.2 to 0 M AS was used. Fractions were dialysed against 50 mM sodium acetate (pH 5.5) yielding fractions AS 30-70 Ia, exhibiting α-L-arabinofuranosidase activity, and AS 30-70 Ib, exhib¬ iting β-D-xylosidase and arabinofuranosidase activity. Fractions Ia and Ib were subjected to cation exchange chromatography (Mono S column, HR 5/5, Pharmacia, SE; 50 mM sodium acetate, pH 5.5) to remove contaminating proteins. The eluted fractions were pooled and dialysed (pH 8.5, 20 h). Final purification was performed by anion exchange chromatography (Mono Q, HR 5/5; 20 mM Tris pH 8.5); the absorbed proteins were eluted with linear gradient of 0 to 0.5 M NaCl, followed by a linear gradient from 0.5 to 1.0 M NaCl. The final fractions (AS 30-70 Ia SQ and AS 30-70 Ib SQ) contained xylosidase and arabino¬ furanosidase activity, respectively. Fraction AS 30-70 II was further fractionated by hydrophobic interaction in the same way as fraction I, except that an AS gradient from 0.6 M to 0.24 M was used. The pooled, dialysed fractions were subjected to a final anion exchange chromatography (Mono Q) (fraction AS 30-70 II Q) and contained endoxylanase (referred to herein as endoxylanase A) activity. Fraction AS 80-100 was further purified on a Bio-gel P-10 column (Bio- Rad, Hercules, CA, USA; 0.1 M sodium acetate, pH 4.8, 0.02 M sodium azide). Fractions were pooled, dialysed (MW 3500, 20 h) against deionised water and lyophilised. This fraction was further fractionated by cation exchange chromato¬ graphy (Mono S, HR 5/5, Pharmacia, SE; 25 mM sodium acetate, pH 4.5). Elution was done with a 0 - 0.5 M NaCl gradient followed by elution with 1.0 M NaCl. Fractions were pooled, dialysed (3500 Da) and lyophilised to yield fraction AS 80- 100 GS containing endoxylanase (referred to herein as endoxylanase B) activity. The molecular weights of the purified enzymes were determined by SDS- PAGE on 12.5% or 20.0% polyacrylamide gels under non-reducing conditions with the PhastSystem unit (Pharmacia). The isoelectric points were determined with the PhastSystem unit using polyacrylamide gels containing ampholytes (pH 3-9) and appropriate reagents and standards (Pharmacia calibration kits, pi 3.5 - 9.3). Example 2 Activity of β-xylosidase, arabinofuranosidase and endoxylanase A. Fraction AS 30-70 Ia SQ (β-xylosidase, example 1) is capable of hydro¬ lysing xylose- oligomers from dimers up to at least pentamers. It can also release xylose form wheat arabinoxylan and oat spelts xylan, but more efficiently from the latter. This shows that it cannot debranch branched xylans. Fraction AS 30-70 Ib SQ (arabinofuranosidase, example 1) is capable of hydrolysing arabinoxylans having different substitution patterns, containing 1,3-α- and/or 1,2-α-β-linked arabinose residues. The major hydrolysis product is presum- ably a substituted arabinose (HPAEC retention time between xylose and arabinose), together with arabinose. Fraction AS 30-70 II Q (endoxylanase A, example 1) is unable to hydrolyse xylo-oligosaccharides up to the pentamer. Wheat arabinoxylan is hydrolysed to a low extent only, whereas hydrolysis of rye arabinoxylan is more efficient. On the other hand, the endoxylanase A is capable to hydrolyse oat spelts xylan, containing only low levels of side-chains, to a much greater extent, yielding xylose oligomers as the major products. These results show that endoxylanase A is unable to attack branched xylans, and effectively hydrolyses unbranched (sections of) long-chain xylans. Example 3 Activity of endoxylanase B. Incubation of arabinoxylan of wheat, a xylan with arabinose substitution with an average ratio of sugar units (arabinose:xylose; 0.55:1), with a P-30,000 fraction (AS 80-100 GS of example 1, endoxylanase B) results in the release of xylo-oligosaccharides (mainly trimers to pentamers) and branched xylo-oligosaccha- rides, as measured by high performance anion exchange chromatography. The yield in hydrolysis products by this endoxylanase B is much higher than that of endoxyla¬ nase A (example 2). Similar results were obtained when using rye arabinoxylan. Endoxylanase B is also capable of hydrolysing oat spelts xylan, although the differ¬ ence in yield of oligosaccharide production is smaller than with the arabinoxylans. These results indicate that P-30,000 exhibits endo-xylanase activity and that this enzyme can act on the branched structure without prior hydrolysis of the arabinose units. This latter is a new finding with respect to its specificity, as most commercial industrial enzymes lack the ability to hydrolyse branched polysaccharides without the synergetic action of debranching enzymes. The degradation of (arabino)-xylan without the need to use further xylano- lytic enzymes and without release of major amounts of arabinose and xylose may in particular be important for the feed industry since pentose sugars are poorly utilised and may even be detrimental in high concentrations e.g. to fowl. Example 4: Viscosity measurements of an incubation mixture of wheat arabinoxylan with endoxylanase B (P-30,000) show a clear decrease in viscosity in time, indicat¬ ing the presence of an endo-acting enzyme, thus supporting our findings in example 3. Because of the high water-binding capacity of the non-starch polysaccharides in wheat flour, the soluble arabinoxylans form highly viscous solutions and in this way influence dough rheology. Addition of endoxylanase B to wheat flour decreases the viscosity of arabinoxylans present in the flour during breadmaking and influence the bread-making quality of the flour. An other effect of this enzyme forms the redistribution of water from the arabinoxylan phase to the gluten (wheat protein) phase, which gives the gluten more extensibility, which eventually results in a better ovenspring and an increase in bread volume. Addition of this enzyme to chicken feed reduces the intestinal viscosity and eliminates the anti-nutritional effect of the non-starch polysaccharides. Application of this enzyme in gluten-starch separation can give better processing conditions. The enzyme can e.g. be added to the process water containing starch and gluten. Transport problems with highly viscous solutions (syrups) can be resolved using this enzyme. Again the enzyme can simply be added to the syrup and, if appropriate, the mixture can be pasteurised. Example 5: An efficient hydrolysis of more substituted xylan fractions is found when the crude wheat extract is incubated with (arabino)-xylans with varying degree of sub- stitution. More fragments with a varying degree of polymerisation were released from rye arabinoxylan (arabinose : xylose; 0.65:1) compared to wheat arabinoxylan (arabinose : xylose; 0.55:1) and xylan from oat spelt (arabinose : xylose; 0.11:1). These observations are in contradiction with the general agreement that more linear structures are easier to hydrolyse for most of the endo-xylanases and once more indicate the specific action of the endogenous enzymes of wheat flour. Example 6: Incubation of arabinoxylan of wheat with the fraction enriched in exo-acting enzymes (xylosidase and arabinofuranosidase) obtained after preparative anion- exchange chromatography resulted in the release of mainly xylose and arabinose. These results indicate that these exo-acting enzymes are able to attack large poly¬ saccharides, such as arabinoxylan, without the presence of an endo-xylanase. Generally, the affinity of the exo-acting enzymes for a substrate decreases with increasing polymerisation rate. This again illustrates the special action of in this finding isolated endogenous enzymes in wheat, or fraction thereof. REFERENCES Adlung M, PhD Thesis, Landwirtschaftliche Fakultat der Rheinischen Friedrich- Wilhelms-Universitat, Bonn, Germany (1985). Beldman G, Osuga D, and Whitaker J.R. 1995, AGFD 009, Proceedings 209th Con¬ gress of the American Chemical Society, April 2-6, 1995, Anaheim, FL, US. Bremen U, PhD Thesis, Landwirtschaftliche Fakultat der Rheinischen Friedrich- Wilhelms-Universitat, Bonn, Germany (1981). Casier, J.P.J., De Paepe, G.M.J., and Brummer, J. 1973, Getreide Mehl Brot 27:36- 44. Casier, J.P.J., De Paepe, G.M.J., Willems, H.E.J., Goffings, G.J.G., Hermans, J.L., and Noppen, H.E. 1979, Trop. Foods Chem. Nutr. 1:279-340. Campbell, G.L., Classen, H.L., and Goldsmith, K.A. 1983, Poult. Sci. 62:2218-2223. DAppolonia, B.L., Gilles, K.A., and Medcalf, D.G. 1970, Cereal Chem. 47:194-204. DAppolonia, B.L. 1971, A review. Baker's Dig. 45:20-23,63. D'Appolonia, B.L. 1973, Cereal Chem. 50:27-36. D'Appolonia, B.L. 1980, Journal of Texture Studies 10:201-216. Farell, R.L., and Skerker, P.S. 1992, Chlorine-free bleaching with cartazyme HS treatment. Fengler, A.L, and Marquardt, R.R. 1988, Cereal Chem. 65:298-302. Pages 315-324 in: Xylans and Xylanases. J. Visser et al., eds. Elsevier: Amsterdam. Grootwassink, J.W.D., Campbell, L.D., and Claessen, H.L. 1989, Poult. Sci. 70:1571-1577. Gruppen, H., Hamer, R.J., and Voragen, A.G.J. 1992, J. Cereal Sci. 16:53-67. ter Haseborg, E., and Himmelstein, A. 1988, Cereal Foods World 33:419-422. Jelaca, S.L., and Hlynka, I. 1971, Cereal Chem. 48:211-222. Jelaca, S.L., and Hlynka, I. 1972, Cereal Chem. 49:489-495. Kim, S.K., and D'Appolonia, B.L. 1977a, Cereal Chem. 54:225-229. Kim, S.K., and D'Appolonia, B.L. 1977b, Cereal Chem. 54:150-160. Kulp, K. 1968a, Cereal Sci. Today 13:414-417, 426. Kulp, K. 1968b, Cereal Chem. 45:339-350. Lee, J.W., and Ronalds, J.A. 1972, J. Sci. Fd. Agric. 23:199-205. Maat, J., Roza, M., Verbakel, J., Stam, H., Santos da Silva, M.J., Bosse, M., Egmond, M.R., and Hangemans, M.L.D. 1992, Xylanases and their application in bakery, pages 349-360 in: Xylans and Xylanases, J. Visser et al., eds. Elsevier: Amsterdam. McCleary, B.V. 1986, Int. J. Biol. Macromol. 8:349-354. Meuser, F., and Suckow, P. 1986, Non-starch polysaccharides, pages 42-61 in: Chemistry and Physics of Baking. J.M.V. Blanshard, P.J. Frazier, and T. Gaillard, eds. r. Soc. Chem.: London. Moran, E.T., Lall, S.P., and Summers, J.D. 1969, Poult. Sci. 48:939-949. Nissen, A.M., Anker, L., Munk, N. and Lange, N.K. 1992, Xylanases for the pulp and paper industry, pages 325-337 in: Xylans and Xylanases. J. Visser et al., eds. Elsevier: Amsterdam. Pence, J.W., Elder, A.H., and Mecham, D.K. 1950, Cereal Chem. 27:60-66. Petterson, D., and Aman, P. 1988, Anim. Feed Sci. Technol. 20:313-324. Preece, I.A., and MacDougall, M. 1958, J. Inst. Brew. 64:489-500. Rahman, S., Jolly, C.J., Skerritt, J.H. and Wallosheck, A. 1994, Eur. J. Biochem. 223: 917-925. Schmitz, J.F., McDonald, C.E., and Gilles, K.A. 1974, Cereal Chem. 51:809-821. Udy, D.C. 1956, Cereal Chem. 33:67-74. Udy, D.C. 1957, Cereal Chem. 34:37-46. Wong, K.K.Y., Tan, L.U.L., and Saddler, J.N. 1988, Microbiol. Rev. 52:305-317. Wong, K.K.Y., and Saddler, J.N. 1992, Trichoderma xylanases, their properties and application, pages 171-186 in: Xylans and Xylanases. J. Visser et al., eds. Elsevier: Amsterdam. ANNEX SEQUENCE LISTINGS (1) GENERAL INFORMATION (i) APPLICANT: (A) NAME: Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek TNO (B) ADRES: Schoemakerstraat 97 (C) CITY: Delft (E) COUNTRY: The Netherlands (F) POSTAL CODE: 2628 VK (G) TELEPHONE: ++31-15-2696900 (ii) TITLE OF INVENTION: Non-starch polysaccharide hydrolysing enzymes (iii) NUMBER OF SEQUENCES: 1 (iv) COMPUTER-READABLE FORM: (A) MEDIUM TYPE: Diskette (B) COMPUTER: IBM-compatible (C) OPERATING SYSTEM: MS-DOS (D) SOFTWARE: WordPerfect 5.1 (v) CURRENT APPLICATION DATA APPLICATION NUMBER: PCT/NL96/00 (2) INFORMATION ON SEQ ID NO: 1 (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS (A) LENGTH: 19 amino acids (B) TYPE: amino acid (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ix) FEATURE: (A) AMINOACID: Cys (B) POSITION: 5 (C) KEY: uncertain, possibly other aminoacid (ix) FEATURE: (A) AMINOACID: Cys (B) POSITION: 13 (C) KEY: possibly other aminoacid (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 1 Val Ala Ile Ala Cys Ser Ala Ser Gly Phe Glu Asn Cys Glu Glu 1 5 10 15 Glu Gin Pro Lys 19

Claims: CLAIMS 1. Enzyme having xylan-degrading activity, obtainable by extraction of wheat or fractions thereof, said enzyme having an apparent molecular weight between 25,000 and 68,000 Da. 2. Xylan-degrading enzyme according to claim 1, wherein said enzyme ex¬ hibits endo-xylanase activity towards branched and unbranched xylans and has an apparent molecular weight of about 30,000 and a pi of about 9 or higher. 3. Xylan-degrading enzyme according to claim 2, wherein said enzyme com¬ prises an amino acid sequence, the N-terminal part of which contains at least 8 aminoacids in the same relative position as the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO. 1 and contains the sequence Phe-Glu-Asn. 4. Xylan-degrading enzyme according to claim 3, wherein the N-terminal part of contains the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO. 1. 5. Xylan-degrading enzyme according to claim 1, wherein said enzyme ex- hibits endo-xylanase activity and has an apparent molecular weight of about 55,000 Da and a pi of between 4.0 and 5.0. 6. Xylan-degrading enzyme according to claim 1, wherein said enzyme ex¬ hibits β-xylosidase activity and has an apparent molecular weight of about 64,000 Da and a pi of about 5.5. 7. Xylan-degrading enzyme according to claim 1, wherein said enzyme ex¬ hibits arabinofuranosidase activity, and has an apparent molecular weight between 38,000 and 68,000 Da and a pi of between 5.0 and 7.0. 8. Process for preparing a xylan-degrading enzyme according to any one of claims 1-6, comprising extracting wheat flour using an aqueous solvent and selectively precipitating proteinaceous material from the extract obtained or from a fraction thereof, and optionally further fractionating the precipitate. 9. Use of a xylan-degrading enzyme according to any one of claims 1-6 as a bread improver. 10. Use of a xylan-degrading enzyme according to any one of claims 1-7 for the treatment of cereals, such as for animal feedstuffs. 11. Use of a xylan-degrading enzyme according to any one of claims 1-7 for the production of xylose. 12. Use of a xylan-degrading enzyme according to any one of claims 1-7 for the production of arabinose. 13. Use of a xylan-degrading enzyme according to any one of claims 1-7 for the production of xylose oligomers. 14. Use of a xylan-degrading enzyme according to any one of claims 1-7 for gluten-starch separation or syrup processing.

Inventors: CLEEMPUT GREET, DELCOUR JAN, HESSING MARTIN, CLEEMPUT, GREET, DELCOUR, JAN, HESSING, MARTIN
Applicants: CLEEMPUT GREET, DELCOUR JAN, HESSING MARTIN, TNO, CLEEMPUT, GREET, DELCOUR, JAN, HESSING, MARTIN, NEDERLANDSE ORGANISATIE VOOR TOEGEPAST-NATUURWETEN
Application year: 1996
Main classification: C12N9
IPC codes: A21D8, A23K1, A23L1, C12N9, C12P19, C12S3