ALPHA-AMYLASE VARIANTS

Abstract: The invention relates to a variant of a parent Termamyl-like alpha-amylase, which variant exhibits altered properties, in particular reduced capability of cleaving a substrate close to the branching point, and improved substrate specificity and/or improved specific activity relative to the parent alpha-amylase.

Description: Alpha-AMYLASE VARIANTS FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates, inter alia , to novel variants of parent Termamyl-like alpha-amylases, notably variants exhibiting altered properties, m particular altered cleavage pattern (relative to the parent) which are advantageous with respect to applications of the variants m, m particular, industrial starch processing (e.g., starch liquefaction or sacchaπfication) . BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Alpha-Amylases (alpha-1 , 4-glucan-4-glucanohydrolases, EC 3.2.1.1) constitute a group of enzymes which catalyze hydrolysis of starch and other linear and branched 1 , 4-glucosιdιc oligo- and polysaccharides . There is a very extensive body of patent and scientific literature relating to this industrially very important class of enzymes. A number of alpha-amylase such as Termamyl-like alpha-amylases variants are known from, e . g. , WO 90/11352, WO 95/10603, WO 95/26397, WO 96/23873, WO 96/23874 and WO 97/41213. Among recent disclosure relating to alpha-amylases, WO 96/23874 provides three-dimensional, X-ray crystal structural daua for a Termamyl-like alpha-amylase, reffered to as BA2 , which consists of the 300 N-termmal ammo acid residues of the B . amyloliquefaciens alpha-amylase comprising the ammo acid sequence shown m SEQ ID NO: 6 herein and ammo acids 301-483 of the C-termmal end of the B . lichemformis alpha-amylase comprising the ammo acid sequence shown m SEQ ID NO: 4 herein (the latter being available commercially under the tradename Termamyl™) , and which is thus closely related to the industrially important Bacillus alpha-amylases (which m the present context are embraced withm the meaning of the term "Termamyl-like alpha-amylases", and which include, inter alia , the B . li chemformis, B . amyloliquefaci ens and B . stearothermophilus alpha-amylases) . WO 96/23874 further αescribes methodology for designing, on the basis of an analysis of the structure of a parent Termamyl-like alpha-amylase, variants of the parent Termamyl-like alpha-amylase which exhibit altered properties relative to the parent. WO 96/23874 and WO 97/41213 (Novo Nordisk) discloses Termamyl-like alpha-amylase variants with an altered cleavage pattern containing mutations the ammo acid residues V54, D53, Y56, Q333, G57 and A52 of the sequence shown m SEQ ID NO: 4 herein. BRIEF DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to novel alpha-amylolytic variants (mutants) of a Termamyl-like alpha-amylase, m particular variants exhibiting altered cleavage pattern (relative to the parent) , which are advantageous m connection with the industrial processing of starch (starch liquefaction, saccharification and the like) . The inventors have surprisingly found variants with altered properties, m particular altered cleavage pattern which have improved reduced capability of cleaving an substrate close to the branching point, and further have improved substrate specificity and/or improved specific activity, comparison to the WO 96/23874 and WO 97/41213 (Novo Nordisk) disclosed Termamyl-like alpha-amylase variants with an altered cleavage pattern containing mutations the ammo acid residues V54, D53, Y56, Q333, G57 and A52 of the sequence shown m SEQ ID NO: 4 herein. The invention further relates to DNA constructs encoding variants of the invention, to composition comprising variants of the invention, to methods for preparing variants of the invention, and to the use of variants and compositions of the invention, alone or m combination with other alpha-amylolytic enzymes, m various industrial processes, e . g. , starch liquefaction, and detergent compositions, such as laundry, dish washing and hard surface cleaning compositions; ethanol production, such as fuel, drinking and industrial ethanol production; desizmg of textiles, fabrics or garments etc. Nomenclature In the present description and claims, the conventional one- letter and three-letter codes for ammo acid residues are used. For ease of reference, alpha-amylase variants of the invention are described by use of the following nomenclature: Original ammo acιd(s) :posιtιon(s) : substituted ammo acιd(s) According to this nomenclature, for instance the substitution of alanme for asparagme m position 30 is shown as : Ala30Asn or A3 ON a deletion of alanme m the same position is shown as : Ala30* or A30* and insertion of an additional ammo acid residue, such as lysme, is shown as: *30aLys or *30aK A deletion of a consecutive stretch of ammo acid residues, such as am o acid residues 30-33, is indicated as (30-33)* or Δ(A30-N33) or delta (A30-N33 ) . Where a specific alpha-amylase contains a "deletion" m comparison with other alpha-amylases and an insertion is made m such a position this is indicated as: *36aAsp or *36aD for insertion of an aspartic acid position 36 Multiple mutations are separated by plus signs, i.e.: Ala30Asp + Glu34Ser or A30N+E34S representing mutations m positions 30 and 34 substituting alanme and glutamic acid for asparagme and serine, respectively. Multiple mutations may also be separated as follows, i.e., meaning the same as the plus sign: Ala30Asp/Glu34Ser or A30N/E34S When one or more alternative ammo acid residues may be inserted m a given position it is indicated as A30N,E or A3 ON or A30E Furthermore, when a position suitable for modification is identified herein without any specific modification being suggested, or A3 OX, it is to be understood that any ammo acid residue may be substituted for the ammo acid residue present m the position. Thus, for instance, when a modification of an alanme m position 30 is mentioned, but not specified, or specified as "X" , it is to be understood that the alanme may be deleted or substituted for any other ammo acid, i.e., any one of: R,N,D,C,Q,E,G,H,I,L,K,M,F,P,S,T,W,Y,V. DETAILED DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The Termamyl-like alpha-amylase It is well known that a number of alpha-amylases produced by Bacillus spp. are highly homologous on the ammo acid level. For instance, the B . licheniformis alpha-amylase comprising the ammo acid sequence shown m SEQ ID NO: 4 (commercially available as Termamyl™) has been found to be about 89% homologous with the B . amyloliquefaciens alpha-amylase comprising the ammo acid sequence shown m SEQ ID NO: 6 and about 79% homologous with the B. stearothermophilus alpha- amylase comprising the ammo acid sequence shown m SEQ ID NO: 8. Further homologous alpha-amylases include an alpha-amylase derived from a strain of the Bacillus sp . NCIB 12289, NCIB 12512, NCIB 12513 or DSM 9375, all of which are described m detail m WO 95/26397, and the #707 alpha-amylase described by Tsukamoto et al . , Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 151 (1988), pp. 25-31. Still further homologous alpha-amylases include the alpha- amylase produced by the B. licheniformis strain described m EP 0252666 (ATCC 27811) , and the alpha-amylases identified m WO 91/00353 and WO 94/18314. Other commercial Termamyl-like B . lichemformis alpha-amylases are Optitherm™ and Takatherm™ (available from Solvay) , Maxamyl™ (available from Gist- brocades/Genencor) , Spezym AA™ and Spezyme Delta AA™ (available from Genencor) , and Keistase™ (available from Daiwa) . Because of the substantial homology found between these alpha-amylases, they are considered to belong to the same class of alpha-amylases, namely the class of "Termamyl-like alpha- amylases" . Accordingly, in the present context, the term "Termamyl-like alpha-amylase" is intended to indicate an alpha-amylase, which at the amino acid level exhibits a substantial homology to Termamyl™, i . e . , the B . licheniformis alpha-amylase having the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO : 4 herein. In other words, a Termamyl-like alpha-amylase is an alpha-amylase, which has the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO : 2, 4, 6, or 8 herein, and the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 1 or 2 of WO 95/26397 or in Tsukamoto et al . , 1988, or i) which displays at least 60%, preferred at least 70%, more preferred at least 75%, even more preferred at least 80%, especially at least 85%, especially preferred at least 90%, even especially more preferred at least 95% homology, more preferred at least 97%, more preferred at least 99% with at least one of said amino acid sequences and/or ii) displays immunological cross-reactivity with an antibody raised against at least one of said alpha- amylases, and/or iii) is encoded by a DNA sequence which hybridises to the DNA sequences encoding the above-specified alpha-amylases which are apparent from SEQ ID NOS: 1, 3, 5 and 7 of the present application and SEQ ID NOS: 4 and 5 of WO 95/26397, respectively. In connection with property i) , the "homology" may be determined by use of any conventional algorithm, preferably by use of the GAP progamme from the GCG package version 7.3 (June 1993) using default values for GAP penalties, which is a GAP creation penalty of 3.0 and GAP extension penalty of 0.1, (Genetic Computer Group (1991) Programme Manual for the GCG Package, version 7, 575 Science Drive, Madison, Wisconsin, USA 53711) . A structural alignment between Termamyl and a Termamyl- like alpha-amylase may be used to identify equivalent/corresponding positions m other Termamyl-like alpha- amylases. One method of obtaining said structural alignment is to use the Pile Up programme from the GCG package using default values of gap penalties, i.e., a gap creation penalty of 3.0 and gap extension penalty of 0.1. Other structural alignment methods include the hydrophobic cluster analysis (Gaboriaud et al . , (1987), FEBS LETTERS 224, pp. 149-155) and reverse threading (Huber, T ; Torda, AE, PROTEIN SCIENCE Vol. 7, No. 1 pp. 142- 149 (1998) . Property n) of the alpha-amylase, i . e . , the immunological cross reactivity, may be assayed using an antibody raised against, or reactive with, at least one epitope of the relevant Termamyl-like alpha-amylase. The antibody, which may either be monoclonal or polyclonal, may be produced by methods known in the art, e . g. , as described by Hudson et al . , Practical Immunology, Third edition (1989) , Blackwell Scientific Publications. The immunological cross-reactivity may be determined using assays known m the art, examples of which are Western Blotting or radial immunodiffusion assay, e . g. , as described by Hudson et al . , 1989. In this respect, immunological cross- reactivity between the alpha-amylases having the ammo acid sequences SEQ ID NOS: 2, 4, 6, or 8 , respectively, have been found . The oligonucleotide probe used m the characterization of the Termamyl-like alpha-amylase m accordance with property in) above may suitably be prepared on the basis of the full or partial nucleotide or ammo acid sequence of the alpha-amylase m question. Suitable conditions for testing hybridization involve presoakmg m 5xSSC and prehybndizmg for 1 hour at ~40°C m a solution of 20% formamide, 5xDenhardt ' s solution, 50mM sodium phosphate, pH 6.8, and 50mg of denatured sonicated calf thymus DNA, followed by hybridization m the same solution supplemented with lOOmM ATP for 18 hours at ~40°C, followed by three times washing of the filter m 2xSSC, 0.2% SDS at 40°C for 30 minutes (low stringency) , preferred at 50°C (medium stringency) , more preferably at 65°C (high stringency) , even more preferably at ~75°C (very high stringency) . More details about the hybridization method can be found m Sambrook et al . , Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, 2nd Ed., Cold Spring Harbor, 1989. In the present context, "derived from" is intended not only to indicate an alpha-amylase produced or producible by a strain of the organism m question, but also an alpha-amylase encoded by a DNA sequence isolated from such strain and produced a host organism transformed with said DNA sequence. Finally, the term is intended to indicate an alpha-amylase, which is encoded by a DNA sequence of synthetic and/or cDNA origin and which has the identifying characteristics of the alpha-amylase in question. The term is also intended to indicate that the parent alpha-amylase may be a variant of a naturally occurring alpha- amylase, i.e. a variant, which is the result of a modification (insertion, substitution, deletion) of one or more ammo acid residues of the naturally occurring alpha-amylase. Parent hybrid alpha-amylases The parent alpha-amylase may be a hybrid alpha-amylase, i.e., an alpha-amylase, which comprises a combination of partial ammo acid sequences derived from at least two alpha-amylases. The parent hybrid alpha-amylase may be one, which on the basis of ammo acid homology and/or immunological cross- reactivity and/or DNA hybridization (as defined above) can be determined to belong to the Termamyl-like alpha-amylase family. In this case, the hybrid alpha-amylase is typically composed of at least one part of a Termamyl-like alpha-amylase and part (s) of one or more other alpha-amylases selected from Termamyl-like alpha-amylases or non-Termamyl -like alpha-amylases of microbial (bacterial or fungal) and/or mammalian origin. Thus, the parent hybrid alpha-amylase may comprise a combination of partial ammo acid sequences deriving from at least two Termamyl-like alpha-amylases, or from at least one Termamyl-like and at least one non-Termamyl-like bacterial alpha-amylase, or from at least one Termamyl-like and at least one fungal alpha-amylase. The Termamyl-like alpha-amylase from which a partial ammo acid sequence derives may, e . g. , be any of those specific Termamyl-like alpha-amylases referred to herein. For instance, the parent alpha-amylase may comprise a C- termmal part of an alpha-amylase derived from a strain of B . licheniformis , and a N-termmal part of an alpha-amylase derived from a strain of B . amyloliquefaciens or from a strain of B . stearothermophilus . For instance, the parent alpha-amylase may comprise at least 430 ammo acid residues of the C-terminal part of the B . lichemformis alpha-amylase, and may, e . g . , comprise a) an ammo acid segment corresponding to the 37 N-terminal ammo acid residues of the B . amyloliquefaciens alpha-amylase having the ammo acid sequence shown SEQ ID NO: 6 and an ammo acid segment corresponding to the 445 C-termmal ammo acid residues of the B . lichemformis alpha-amylase having the ammo acid sequence shown m SEQ ID NO: 4, or b) an ammo acid segment corresponding to the 68 N-termmal ammo acid residues of the B . stearothermophilus alpha-amylase having the ammo acid sequence shown m SEQ ID NO: 8 and an ammo acid segment corresponding to the 415 C-termmal ammo acid residues of the B . lichemformis alpha-amylase having the ammo acid sequence shown m SEQ ID NO : 4. In a preferred embodiment the parent Termamyl-like alpha- amylase is a hybrid Termamyl-like alpha-amylase identical to the Bacillus liche formis alpha-amylase shown m SEQ ID NO: 4, except that the N-termmal 35 ammo acid residues (of the mature protein) is replaced with the N-termmal 33 ammo acid residues of the mature protein of the Bacillus amyloliquefaciens alpha- amylase (BAN) shown m SEQ ID NO: 6. Said hybrid may further have the following mutations: H156Y+A181T+N190F+A209V+Q264S (using the numbering SEQ ID NO: 4) referred to as LE174. Another preferred parent hybrid alpha-amylase is LE429 shown SEQ ID NO: 2. The non-Termamyl-like alpha-amylase may, e . g. , be a fungal alpha-amylase, a mammalian or a plant alpha-amylase or a bacterial alpha-amylase (different from a Termamyl-like alpha- amylase) . Specific examples of such alpha-amylases include the Aspergillus oryzae TAKA alpha-amylase, the A . mger acid alpha- amylase, the Bacillus subtilis alpha-amylase, the porcine pancreatic alpha-amylase and a barley alpha-amylase. All of these alpha-amylases have elucidated structures, which are markedly different from the structure of a typical Termamyl-like alpha-amylase as referred to herein. The fungal alpha-amylases mentioned above, i.e., derived from A . mger and A . oryzae, are highly homologous on the ammo acid level and generally considered to belong to the same family of alpha-amylases. The fungal alpha-amylase derived from Aspergillus oryzae is commercially available under the tradename Fungamyl™. Furthermore, when a particular variant of a Termamyl-like alpha-amylase (variant of the invention) is referred to - m a conventional manner - by reference to modification { e . g. , deletion or substitution) of specific ammo acid residues m the ammo acid sequence of a specific Termamyl-like alpha-amylase, it is to be understood that variants of another Termamyl-like alpha-amylase modified m the equivalent position (s) (as determined from the best possible am o acid sequence alignment between the respective ammo acid sequences) are encompassed thereby. A preferred embodiment of a variant of the invention is one derived from a B . liche formis alpha-amylase (as parent Termamyl-like alpha-amylase), e.g., one of those referred to above, such as the B . licheniformis alpha-amylase having the ammo acid sequence shown m SEQ ID NO: 4. Construction of variants of the invention The construction of the variant of interest may be accomplished by cultivating a microorganism comprising a DNA sequence encoding the variant under conditions which are conducive for producing the variant. The variant may then subsequently be recovered from the resulting culture broth. This is described m detail further below. Altered properties The following discusses the relationship between mutations, which may be present m variants of the invention, and desirable alterations m properties (relative to those of a parent Termamyl-like alpha-amylase) , which may result there from. In the first aspect the invention relates to a variant of a parent Termamyl-like alpha-amylase, comprising an alteration at one or more positions selected from the group of: W13, G48, T49, S50, Q51, A52 , D53 , V54 , G57, G107, G108, Alll, S168, M197, wherein (a) the alteration (s) are independently (I) an insertion of an ammo acid downstream of the ammo acid which occupies the position, (II) a deletion of the ammo acid which occupies the position, or (m) a substitution of the ammo acid which occupies the position with a different ammo acid, (b) the variant has alpha-amylase activity and (c) each position corresponds to a position of the ammo acid sequence of the parent Termamyl-like alpha-amylase having the ammo acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4. In a preferred embodiment the above variants of the invention comprise a mutation m a position corresponding to at least one of the following mutations m the ammo acid sequence shown m SEQ ID NO : 4 : V54N, A52S, A52S+V54N, T49L, T49+G107A, A52S+V54N+T49L+G107A, A52S+V54N+T49L, G107A, Q51R, Q51R+A52S, A52N; or T49F+G107A, T49V+G107A, T49D+G107A, T49Y+G107A, T49S+G107A, T49N+G107A, T49I+G107A, T49L+A52S+G107A, T49L+A52T+G107A, T49L+A52F+G107A, T49L+A52L+G107A, T49L+A52I+G107A, T49L+A52V+G107A; or T49V, T49I, T49D, T49N, T49S, T49Y, T49F, T49W, T49M, T49E, T49Q, T49K, T49R, A52T, A52L, A52I, A52V, A52M, A52F, A52Y, A52W, V54M, G107V, G07I, G107L, G107C. In a preferred embodiment a variant of the invention comprises at least one mutation m a position corresponding to the following mutations m the ammo acid sequence shown m SEQ ID NO: 4: W13F,L, I,V,Y,A; G48A,V, S,T, I,L; *48aD or *48aY (i.e., insertion of D or Y) ; T49X; *49aX (i.e., insertion of any possible ammo acid residue) S50X, m particular D,Y,L,T,V,I; Q51R,K; A52X, m particular A52S , N, T, F, L, I , V; D53E,Q,Y,I,N,S,T,V,L; V54X, m particular V54I , N, , Y, F, L; G57S,A,V,L,I,F,Y,T; G107X, m particular G107A, V, S, T, I , , C; G108X, m particular G108A, V, S , T, I , L; A111V,I,L; S168Y; M197X, m particular Y, F, , I , T, A, G. In a preferred embodiment a variant of the invention comprises the following mutations corresponding to the following mutations m the ammo acid sequence shown SEQ ID NO: 4: T49X+A52X+V54N/I/L/Y/F/W+G107A, and may further comprise G108A. In a preferred embodiment a variant of the invention comprises at least one mutation corresponding to the following mutations m the ammo acid sequence shown SEQ ID NO: 4: T49L+G107A; T49I+G107A; T49L+G107A+V54I; T49I+G107A+V54I; A52S+V54N+T49L+G107A; A52S+V54I+T49L+G107A; A52S+T49L+G107A; A52T+T49L+G107A; A52S+V54N+T49I+G107A; A52S+V54I+T49I+G107A; A52S+T49I+G107A; T49L+G108A; T49I+G108A; T49L+G108A+V54I; T49I+G108A+V54I . All of the above-mentioned variants of the invention have altered properties (meaning increased or decreased properties) , m particular at least one of the following properties relative to the parent alpha-amylase: reduced ability to cleave a substrate close to the branching point, improved substrate specificity and/or improved specific activity, altered substrate binding, altered thermal stability, altered pH/activity profile, altered pH/stability profile, altered stability towards oxidation, altered Ca 2 " dependency. Stability In the context of the present invention, mutations (including am o acid substitutions and/or deletions) of importance with respect to achieving altered stability, particular improved stability (i.e., higher or lower), at especially low pH ( i . e . , pH 4-6) include any of the mutations listed m the m "Altered properties" section, above and the variants mentioned right below. The following variants: Q360A,K; N102A, N326A,L, N190G, N190K; Y262A,K,E (using the BAN, i.e., SEQ ID N: 6, numbering) were also tested for pH stability. A preferred parent alpha- amylase may be BA2 described above. The pH stability was determined as described m the "Materials & Methods" section. Ca 2+ stability Altered Ca 2+ stability means the stability of the enzyme under Ca 2+ depletion has been improved, i.e., higher or lower stability. In the context of the present invention, mutations (including ammo acid substitutions) of importance with respect to achieving altered Ca 2+ stability, m particular improved Ca 2+ stability, i.e., higher or lower stability, at especially low pH (i.e., pH 4-6) include any of the mutations listed m the m "Altered properties'' section above. Specific activity In a further aspect of the present invention, important mutations with respect to obtaining variants exhibiting altered specific activity, m particular increased or decreased specific activity, especially at temperatures from 60-100°C, preferably 70-95°C, especially 80-90°C, include any of the mutations listed the m "Altered properties'' section above. Tne specific activity of LE174 and LE429 was determined to 16,000 NU/mg using the Phadebas ® assay described m the "Materials and Methods" section. Altered cleavage pattern In the starch liquefaction process it is desirable to use an alpha-amylase, which is capable of degrading the starch molecules into long, branched oligosaccharides, rather than an alpha-amylase, which gives rise to formation of shorter, branched oligosaccharides (like conventional Termamyl-like alpha-amylases) . Short, branched oligosaccharides (panose precursors) are not hydrolyzed satisfactorily by pullulanases, which are used after alpha-amylase treatment m the liquefaction process, or simultaneously with a saccharifying amyloglucosidase (glucoamylase) , or before adding a saccharifying amyloglucosidase (glucoamylase) . Thus, m the presence of panose precursors, the product mixture present after the glucoamylase treatment contains a significant proportion of short, branched, so-called limit-dextr , viz. the trisacchaπde panose. The presence of panose lowers the sacchaπfication yield sig- nificantly and is thus undesirable. It has been reported previously (US patent 5,234,823) that, when saccharifying with glucoamylase and pullulanase, the presence of residual alpha-amylase activity arising from the liquefaction process, can lead to lower yields of glucose, if the alpha-amylase is not inactivated before the saccharification stage. This mactivation can be typically carried out by adjusting the pH to below 4.7 at 95°C, before lowering the temperature to 60 °C for saccharification. The reason for this negative effect on glucose yield is not fully understood, but it is assumed that the liquefying alpha-amylase (for example Termamyl 120 L from B . li cheniformis) generates "limit dextrms" (which are poor substrates for pullulanase), by hydrolysmg 1,4-alpha- glucosidic linkages close to and on both sides of the branching points m amylopectm. Hydrolysis of these limit dextrms by glucoamylase leads to a build up of the tπsaccharide panose, which is only slowly hydrolysed by glucoamylase . The development of a thermostable alpha-amylase, which does not suffer from this disadvantage, would be a significant improvement, as no separate mactivation step would be required. Thus, the aim of the present invention is to arrive at a mutant alpha-amylase having appropriately modified starch- degradation characteristics but retaining the thermostability of the parent Termamyl-like alpha-amylase. Accordingly, the invention relates to a variant of a Termamyl-like alpha-amylase, which has an improved reduced ability to cleave a substrate close to the branching point, and further has improved substrate specificity and/or improved specific activity. Of particular interest is a variant, which cleaves an amylopectm substrate, from the reducing end, more than one glucose unit from the branching point, preferably more than two or three glucose units from the branching point, i.e., at a further distance from the branching point than that obtained by use of a wild type B . lichemformis alpha-amylase. It may be mentioned here that according to WO 96/23874, variants comprising at least one of the following mutations are expected to prevent cleavage close to the branching point: V54L, I,F,Y,W,R,K,H,E,Q; D53L,I,F,Y,W; Y56W; Q333W; G57,all possible ammo acid residues; A52, ammo acid residues larger than A, e.g., A52W, Y, L, F, I . Mutations of particular interest m relation to obtaining variants according to the invention having an improved reduced ability to cleave a substrate close to the branching point, and further has improved substrate specificity and/or improved specific activity include mutations at the following positions m B . lichemformis alpha-amylase, SEQ ID NO: 4: H156, A181, N190, A209, Q264 and 1201. It should be emphazised that not only the Termamyl-like alpha-amylases mentioned specifically below may be used. Also other commercial Termamyl-like alpha-amylases can be used. An unexhaustive list of such alpha-amylases is the following: Alpha-amylases produced by the B . licheniformis strain described m EP 0252666 (ATCC 27811) , and the alpha-amylases identified m WO 91/00353 and WO 94/18314. Other commercial Termamyl-like B . licheniformis alpha-amylases are Optitherm™ and Takatherm™ (available from Solvay) , Maxamyl™ (available from Gist- brocades/Genencor) , Spezy AA™ Spezyme Delta AA™ (available from Genencor) , and Keistase™ (available from Daiwa) . All Termamyl-like alpha-amylase may suitably be used as backbone for preparing variants of the invention. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the parent Termamyl-like alpha-amylase is a hybrid alpha-amylase of SEQ ID NO: 4 and SEQ ID NO: 6. Specifically, the parent hybrid Termamyl-like alpha-amylase may be a hybrid alpha-amylase comprising the 445 C-termmal ammo acid residues of the B . licheniformis alpha-amylase shown m SEQ ID NO: 4 and the 37 N- termmal ammo acid residues of the mature alpha-amylase derived from B . amyloliquefaciens shown m SEQ ID NO: 6, which may suitably further have the following mutations: H156Y+A181T+N190F+A209V+Q264S (using the numbering m SEQ ID NO: 4) . This hybrid is referred to as LE174. The LE174 hybrid may be combined with a further mutation 1201F to form a parent hybrid Termamyl-like alpha-amylase having the following mutations H156Y+A181T+N190F+A209V+Q264S+I201F (using SEQ ID NO: 4 for the numbering) . This hybrid variant is shown m SEQ ID NO: 2 and is used the examples below, and is referred to as LE429. Also, LE174 or LE429 (SEQ ID NO: 2) or B . licheniformis alpha-amylase shown m SEQ ID NO: 4 comprising one or more of the following mutations may be used as backbone (using SEQ ID NO: 4 for the numbering of the mutations) : E119C, S130C, D124C R127C A52all possible ammo acid residues; S85all possible ammo acid residues; N96all possible ammo acid residues; V129all possible ammo acid residues; A269all possible ammo acid residues; A378all possible ammo acid residues; S148all possible ammo acid residues, m particular S148N; E211all possible ammo acid residues, m particular E211Q; N188all possible am o acid residues, m particular N188S, N188P M197all possible ammo acid residues, m particular M197T, M197A, M197G, M197I, M197L, M197Y, M197F, M197I; W138all possible am o acid residues, m particular W138Y; D207all possible am o acid residues, m particular D207Y; H133all possible am o acid residues, particular H133Y; H205all possible ammo acid residues, m particular H205H, H205C, H205R; S187all possible ammo acid residues, m particular S187D; A210all possible ammo acid residues, particular A210S, A210T; H405all possible ammo acid residues, m particular H405D; K176all possible am o acid residues, m particular K176R; F279all possible ammo acid residues, m particular F279Y; Q298all possible ammo acid residues, m particular Q298H; G299all possible ammo acid residues, m particular G299R; L308all possible am o acid residues, m particular L308F, T412all possible ammo acid residues, m particular T412A; Further, B . lichemformis alpha-amylase shown m SEQ ID NO: 4 comprising at least one of the following mutations may be used as backbone : M15all possible ammo acid residues; A33all possible ammo acid residues; When using LE429 (shown m SEQ ID NO : 2) as the backbone (i.e., as the parent Termamyl-like alpha-amylase) by combining LE174 with the mutation I201F (SEQ ID NO: 4 numbering), the mutations/alterations, particular substitutions, deletions and insertions, may according to the invention be made m one or more of the following positions to improve the reduced ability to cleave a substrate close to the branching point, and to improve substrate specificity and/or improved specific activity: W13, G48, T49, S50, Q51, A52 , D53 , V54 , G57, G107, G108, Alll, S168, M197 (using the SEQ ID NO: 4 numbering) wherein (a) the alteration (s) are independently (l) an insertion of an ammo acid downstream of the ammo acid which occupies the position, (ii) a deletion of the ammo acid which occupies the position, or (in) a substitution of the ammo acid which occupies the position with a different ammo acid, (b) the variant has alpha-amylase activity and (c) each position corresponds to a position of the ammo acid sequence of the parent Termamyl-like alpha-amylase having the ammo acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4. In a preferred embodiment a variant of the invention comprises at least one mutation m a position corresponding to the following mutations m the ammo acid sequence shown SEQ ID NO : 4 : V54N, A52S, A52S+V54N, T49L, T49+G107A, A52S+V54N+T49L+G107A, A52S+V54N+T49L, G107A, Q51R, Q51R+A52S, A52N; or T49F+G107A, T49V+G107A, T49D+G107A, T49Y+G107A, T49S+G107A, T49N+G107A, T49I+G107A, T49L+A52S+G107A, T49L+A52T+G107A, T49L+A52F+G107A, T49L+A52L+G107A, T49L+A52I+G107A, T49L+A52V+G107A; or T49V, T49I, T49D, T49N, T49S, T49Y, T49F, T49W, T49M, T49E, T49Q, T49K, T49R, A52T, A52L, A52I, A52V, A52M, A52F, A52Y, A52W, V54M, G107V, G07I, G107L, G107C. In a preferred embodiment a variant of the invention comprises at least one mutation m a position corresponding to the following mutations m the ammo acid sequence shown m SEQ ID NO : 4 : W13F,L, I,V, Y,A; G48A,V, S,T, I,L; *48aD or *48aY (i.e., insertion of D or Y) ; T49X; *49aX (i.e., insertion of any ammo acid residue) S50X, in particular D, Y, , T, V, I ; Q51R,K; A52X, in particular A52S ,N, T, F, L, I , V; D53E,Q, Y, I,N,S,T,V,L; V54X, in particular V54I ,N, , Y, F, L; G57S,A,V,L, I,F, Y,T; G107X, in particular G107A, V, S , T, I , L, C; G108X, in particular G108A, V, S , T, I , L; A111V, I,L; S168Y; M197X, m particular Y, F, L, I , T, A, G. In a preferred embodiment a variant of the invention comprises at least one mutation in a position corresponding to the following mutations in the ammo acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 4 : T49X+A52X+V54N/I/L/Y/F/W+G107A, and may further comprise G108A. In a preferred embodiment a variant of the invention comprises at least one mutation in a position corresponding to the following mutations in the amino acid sequence shown m SEQ ID NO: 4 : T49L+G107A; T49I+G107A; T49L+G107A+V54I; T49I+G107A+V54I; A52S+V54N+T49L+G107A; A52S+V54I+T49L+G107A; A52S+T49L+G107A; A52T+T49L+G107A; A52S+V54N+T49I+G107A; A52S+V54I+T49I+G107A; A52S+T49I+G107A; T49L+G108A; T49I+G108A; T49L+G108A+V54I; T49I+G108A+V54I. General mutations in variants of the invention It may be preferred that a variant of the invention comprises one or more modifications addition to those outlined above. Thus, it may be advantageous that one or more prolme residues present m the part of the alpha-amylase 5 variant which is modified is/are replaced with a non-prolme residue which may be any of the possible, naturally occurring non-prolme residues, and which preferably is an alanme, glycme, serine, threonine, valme or leucine . Analogously, it may be preferred that one or more cysteme lo residues present among the ammo acid residues with which the parent alpha-amylase is modified is/are replaced with a non- cysteme residue such as serine, alanme, threonine, glycme, valme or leucine. Furthermore, a variant of the invention may - either as the 15 only modification or m combination with any of the above outlined modifications - be modified so that one or more Asp and/or Glu present m an ammo acid fragment corresponding to the ammo acid fragment 185-209 of SEQ ID NO. 4 is replaced by an Asn and/or Gin, respectively. Also of interest is the 20 replacement, m the Termamyl-like alpha-amylase, of one or more of the Lys residues present m an ammo acid fragment corresponding to the ammo acid fragment 185-209 of SEQ ID NO : 4 by an Arg . It will be understood that the present invention encompasses 25 variants incorporating two or more of the above outlined modifications . Furthermore, it may be advantageous to introduce point - mutations m any of the variants described herein. 30 Methods for preparing alpha-amylase variants Several methods for introducing mutations into genes are known m the art. After a brief discussion of the cloning of alpha-araylase-encoding DNA sequences, methods for generating mutations at specific sites with the alpha-amylase-encodmg _: sequence will be discussed. Cloning a DNA sequence encoding an alpha-amylase The DNA sequence encoding a parent alpha-amylase may be isolated from any cell or microorganism producing the alpha- amylase in question, using various methods well known in the art. First, a genomic DNA and/or cDNA library should be constructed using chromosomal DNA or messenger RNA from the organism that produces the alpha-amylase to be studied. Then, if the amino acid sequence of the alpha-amylase is known, homologous, labelled oligonucleotide probes may be synthesized and used to identify alpha-amylase-encoding clones from a genomic library prepared from the organism in question. Alternatively, a labelled oligonucleotide probe containing sequences homologous to a known alpha-amylase gene could be used as a probe to identify alpha-amylase-encoding clones, using hybridization and washing conditions of lower stringency. Yet another method for identifying alpha-amylase-encoding clones would involve inserting fragments of genomic DNA into an expression vector, such as a plasmid, transforming alpha- amylase-negative bacteria with the resulting genomic DNA library, and then plating the transformed bacteria onto agar containing a substrate for alpha-amylase, thereby allowing clones expressing the alpha-amylase to be identified. Alternatively, the DNA sequence encoding the enzyme may be prepared synthetically by established standard methods, e.g., the phosphoroamidite method described by S.L. Beaucage and M.H. Caruthers (1981) or the method described by Matthes et al . (1984) . In the phosphoroamidite method, oligonucleotides are synthesized, e.g., in an automatic DNA synthesizer, purified, annealed, ligated and cloned in appropriate vectors. Finally, the DNA sequence may be of mixed genomic and synthetic origin, mixed synthetic and cDNA origin or mixed genomic and cDNA origin, prepared by ligatmg fragments of synthetic, genomic or cDNA origin (as appropriate, the fragments corresponding to various parts of the entire DNA sequence) , m accordance with standard techniques. The DNA sequence may also be prepared by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using specific primers, for instance as described m US 4,683,202 or R.K. Saiki et al . ( 1988 ) . Site-directed mutagenesis Once an alpha-amylase-encoding DNA sequence has been isolated, and desirable sites for mutation identified, mutations may be introduced using synthetic oligonucleotides. These oligonucleotides contain nucleotide sequences flanking the desired mutation sites; mutant nucleotides are inserted during oligonucleotide synthesis. In a specific method, a smgle-stranded gap of DNA, bridging the alpha-amylase-encoding sequence, is created m a vector carrying the alpha-amylase gene. Then the synthetic nucleotide, bearing the desired mutation, is annealed to a homologous portion of the smgle-stranded DNA. The remaining gap is then filled m with DNA polymerase I (Klenow fragment) and the construct is ligated using T4 ligase. A specific example of this method is described m Mormaga et al . (1984). US 4,760,025 disclose the introduction of oligonucleotides encoding multiple mutations by performing minor alterations of the cassette. However, an even greater variety of mutations can be introduced at any one time by the Mormaga method, because a multitude of oligonucleotides, of various lengths, can be introduced. Another method for introducing mutations into alpha-amylase- encoding DNA sequences is described m Nelson and Long (1989) . It involves the 3 -step generation of a PCR fragment containing the desired mutation introduced by using a chemically synthesized DNA strand as one of the primers m the PCR reactions. From the PCR-generated fragment, a DNA fragment carrying the mutation may be isolated by cleavage with restriction endonucleases and reinserted into an expression plasmid. Random Mutagenesis Random mutagenesis is suitably performed either as localised or region- speciflc random mutagenesis m at least three parts of the gene translating to the ammo acid sequence shown m question, or withm the whole gene. The random mutagenesis of a DNA sequence encoding a parent alpha-amylase may be conveniently performed by use of any method known m the art . In relation to the above, a further aspect of the present invention relates to a method for generating a variant of a parent alpha-amylase, e.g., wherein the variant exhibits a reduced capability of cleaving an oligo-saccharide substrate close to the branching point, and further exhibits improved substrate specificity and/or improved specific activity relative to the parent, the method: (a) subjecting a DNA sequence encoding the parent alpha- amylase to random mutagenesis, (b) expressing the mutated DNA sequence obtained m step (a) in a host cell, and (c) screening for host cells expressing an alpha-amylase variant which has an altered property (i.e., thermal stability) relative to the parent alpha-amylase. Step (a) of the above method of the invention is preferably performed using doped primers. For instance, the random mutagenesis may be performed by use of a suitable physical or chemical mutagenizmg agent, by use of a suitable oligonucleotide, or by subjecting the DNA sequence to PCR generated mutagenesis. Furthermore, the random mutagenesis may be performed by use of any combination of these mutagenizmg agents. The mutagenizmg agent may, e . g. , be one, which induces transitions, transversions, inversions, scrambling, deletions, and/or insertions. Examples of a physical or chemical mutagenizmg agent suitable for the present purpose include ultraviolet (UV) lr-radiation, hydroxylamine, N-methyl-N 1 -nitro-N-nitrosoguamdme (MNNG) , 0- methyl hydroxylamine, nitrous acid, ethyl methane sulphonate (EMS), sodium bisulphite, formic acid, and nucleotide analogues. When such agents are used, the mutagenesis is typically performed by incubating the DNA sequence encoding the parent enzyme to be mutagenized m the presence of the mutagenizmg agent of choice under suitable conditions for the mutagenesis to take place, and selecting for mutated DNA having the desired properties. When the mutagenesis is performed by the use of an oligonucleotide, the oligonucleotide may be doped or spiked with the three non-parent nucleotides during the synthesis of the oligonucleotide at the positions, which are to be changed. The doping or spiking may be done so that codons for unwanted amino acids are avoided. The doped or spiked oligonucleotide can be incorporated into the DNA encoding the alpha-amylase enzyme by any published technique, using e . g. , PCR, LCR or any DNA polymerase and ligase as deemed appropriate. Preferably, the doping is carried out using "constant random doping", which the percentage of wild type and mutation in each position is predefined. Furthermore, the doping may be directed toward a preference for the introduction of certain nucleotides, and thereby a preference for the introduction of one or more specific amino acid residues. The doping may be made, e . g. , so as to allow for the introduction of 90% wild type and 10% mutations in each position. An additional consideration m the choice of a doping scheme is based on genetic as well as protein- structural constraints. The doping scheme may be made by using the DOPE program, which, inter alia, ensures that introduction of stop codons is avoided. When PCR-generated mutagenesis is used, either a chemically treated or non-treated gene encoding a parent alpha-amylase is subjected to PCR under conditions that increase the mis-mcorporation of nucleotides (Deshler 1992; Leung et al . , Technique, Vol.l, 1989, pp. 11-15). A mutator strain of E . coli (Fowler et al . , Molec . Gen. Genet., 133, 1974, pp. 179-191), S . cereviseae or any other microbial organism may be used for the random mutagenesis of the DNA encoding the alpha-amylase by, e . g. , transforming a plasmid containing the parent glycosylase into the mutator strain, growing the mutator strain with the plasmid and isolating the mutated plasmid from the mutator strain. The mutated plasmid may be subsequently transformed into the expression organism. The DNA sequence to be mutagenized may be conveniently present a genomic or cDNA library prepared from an organism expressing the parent alpha-amylase. Alternatively, the DNA sequence may be present on a suitable vector such as a plasmid or a bacteriophage, which as such may be incubated with or otherwise exposed to the mutagenising agent. The DNA to be mutagenized may also be present m a host cell either by being integrated in the genome of said cell or by being present on a vector harboured in the cell. Finally, the DNA to be mutagenized may be in isolated form. It will be understood that the DNA sequence to be subjected to random mutagenesis is preferably a cDNA or a genomic DNA sequence. In some cases it may be convenient to amplify the mutated DNA sequence prior to performing the expression step b) or the screening step c) . Such amplification may be performed in accordance with methods known m the art, the presently preferred method being PCR-generated amplification using oligonucleotide primers prepared on the basis of the DNA or amino acid sequence of the parent enzyme. Subsequent to the incubation with or exposure to the mutagenising agent, the mutated DNA is expressed by culturing a suitable host cell carrying the DNA sequence under conditions allowing expression to take place. The host cell used for this purpose may be one which has been transformed with the mutated DNA sequence, optionally present on a vector, or one which was carried the DNA sequence encoding the parent enzyme during the mutagenesis treatment. Examples of suitable host cells are the following: gram positive bacteria such as Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus licheniformis , Bacillus lentus , Bacillus brevis, Bacillus stearothermophilus , Bacillus alkalophilus , Bacillus amyloliquefaciens , Bacillus coagulans , Bacillus circulans, Bacillus lautus , Bacillus megaterium, Bacillus thuringiensis, Streptomyces lividans or Streptomyces murinus; and gram-negative bacteria such as E. coli . The mutated DNA sequence may further comprise a DNA sequence encoding functions permitting expression of the mutated DNA sequence. Localised random mutagenesis The random mutagenesis may be advantageously localised to a part of the parent alpha-amylase m question. This may, e . g. , be advantageous when certain regions of the enzyme have been identified to be of particular importance for a given property of the enzyme, and when modified are expected to result in a variant having improved properties. Such regions may normally be identified when the tertiary structure of the parent enzyme has been elucidated and related to the function of the enzyme. The localised, or region-specific, random mutagenesis is conveniently performed by use of PCR generated mutagenesis techniques as described above or any other suitable technique known in the art. Alternatively, the DNA sequence encoding the part of the DNA sequence to be modified may be isolated, e . g. , by insertion into a suitable vector, and said part may be subsequently subjected to mutagenesis by use of any of the mutagenesis methods discussed above. Alternative methods of providing alpha-amylase variants Alternative methods for providing variants of the invention include gene-shuffling method known m the art including the methods e . g. , described in WO 95/22625 (from Affymax Technologies N.V.) and WO 96/00343 (from Novo Nordisk A/S) . Expression of alpha-amylase variants According to the invention, a DNA sequence encoding the variant produced by methods described above, or by any alternative methods known in the art, can be expressed, in enzyme form, using an expression vector which typically includes control sequences encoding a promoter, operator, ribosome binding site, translation initiation signal, and, optionally, a repressor gene or various activator genes. The recombinant expression vector carrying the DNA sequence encoding an alpha-amylase variant of the invention may be any vector, which may conveniently be subjected to recombinant DNA procedures, and the choice of vector will often depend on Lhe host cell into which it is to be introduced. Thus, the vector may be an autonomously replicating vector, i.e., a vector, which exists as an extrachromosomal entity, the replication of which is independent of chromosomal replication, e.g., a plasmid, a bacteriophage or an extrachromosomal element, minichromosome or an artificial chromosome. Alternatively, the vector may be one which, when introduced into a host cell, is integrated into the host cell genome and replicated together with the chromosome (s) into which it has been integrated. In the vector, the DNA sequence should be operably connected to a suitable promoter sequence. The promoter may be any DNA sequence, which shows transcriptional activity m the host cell of choice and may be derived from genes encoding proteins either homologous or heterologous to the host cell . Examples of suitable promoters for directing the transcription of the DNA sequence encoding an alpha-amylase variant of the invention, especially m a bacterial host, are the promoter of the lac operon of E. coli , the Streptomyces coelicolor agarase gene agA promoters, the promoters of the Bacillus licheniformis alpha- amylase gene ( amyL) , the promoters of the Bacillus stearothermophilus maltogenic amylase gene ( a yM) , the promoters of the Bacillus amyloliquefaciens alpha-amylase ( amyQ) , the promoters of the Bacillus subtilis xylA and xylB genes etc. For transcription a fungal host, examples of useful promoters are those derived from the gene encoding A . oryzae TAKA amylase, Rhizomucor miehei aspartic protemase, A . niger neutral alpha- amylase, A . niger acid stable alpha-amylase, A . niger glucoamylase, Rhizomucor miehei lipase, A . oryzae alkaline protease, A . oryzae triose phosphate isomerase or A . nidulans acetamidase. The expression vector of the invention may also comprise a suitable transcription terminator and, m eukaryotes, polyadenylation sequences operably connected to the DNA sequence encoding the alpha-amylase variant of the invention. Termination and polyadenylation sequences may suitably be derived from the same sources as the promoter. The vector may further comprise a DNA sequence enabling the vector to replicate the host cell m question. Examples of such sequences are the origins of replication of plasmids pUC19, pACYC177, pUBHO, pE194, pAMBl and pIJ702. The vector may also comprise a selectable marker, e.g., a gene the product of which complements a defect m the host cell, such as the dal genes from B . subtilis or B . lichemformis , or one which confers antibiotic resistance such as ampicillm, kanamycm, chloramphenicol or tetracyclm resistance. Furthermore, the vector may comprise Aspergillus selection markers such as amdS , argB, niaD and sC, a marker giving rise to hygromycm resistance, or the selection may be accomplished by co-transformation, e.g., as described m WO 91/17243. While intracellular expression may be advantageous m some respects, e.g., when using certain bacteria as host cells, it is generally preferred that the expression is extracellular. In general, the Bacillus alpha-amylases mentioned herein comprise a pre-region permitting secretion of the expressed protease into the culture medium. If desirable, this pre-region may be replaced by a different preregion or signal sequence, conveni- ently accomplished by substitution of the DNA sequences encoding the respective preregions . The procedures used to ligate the DNA construct of the invention encoding an alpha-amylase variant, the promoter, terminator and other elements, respectively, and to insert them into suitable vectors containing the information necessary for replication, are well known to persons skilled m the art (cf., for instance, Sambrook et al . , Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, 2nd Ed., Cold Spring Harbor, 1989). The cell of the invention, either comprising a DNA construct or an expression vector of the invention as defined above, is advantageously used as a host cell the recombinant production of an alpha-amylase variant of the invention. The cell may be transformed with the DNA construct of the invention encoding the variant, conveniently by integrating the DNA construct (m one or more copies) m the host chromosome. This integration is generally considered to be an advantage as the DNA sequence is more likely to be stably maintained m the cell . Integration of the DNA constructs into the host chromosome may be performed according to conventional methods, e . g. , by homologous or heterologous recombination. Alternatively, the cell may be transformed with an expression vector as described above m connection with the different types of host cells. The cell of the invention may be a cell of a higher organism such as a mammal or an insect, but is preferably a microbial cell, e . g. , a bacterial or a fungal (including yeast) cell. Examples of suitable bacteria are gram-positive bacteria such as Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus licheniformis , Bacillus lentus, Bacillus brevis, Bacillus stearothermophilus, Bacillus alkalophilus , Bacillus amyloliquefaciens , Bacillus coagulans, Bacillus circulans, Bacillus lautus, Bacillus megaterium, Ba cillus thuringiensis, or Stre tomyces lividans or Streptomyces murinus, or gramnegative bacteria such as E. coli . The transformation of the bacteria may, for instance, be effected by protoplast transformation or by using competent cells in a manner known per se . The yeast organism may favourably be selected from a species of Saccharomyces or Schizosaccharomyces , e. g. , Saccharomyces cerevisiae . The filamentous fungus may advantageously belong to a species of Aspergillus, e . g. , Aspergillus oryzae or Aspergil lus niger. Fungal cells may be transformed by a process involving protoplast formation and transformation of the protoplasts followed by regeneration of the cell wall in a manner known per se . A suitable procedure for transformation of Aspergillus host cells is described in EP 238 023. In yet a further aspect, the present invention relates to a method of producing an alpha-amylase variant of the invention, which method comprises cultivating a host cell as described above under conditions conducive to the production of the variant and recovering the variant from the cells and/or culture medium. The medium used to cultivate the cells may be any conven- tional medium suitable for growing the host cell in question and obtaining expression of the alpha-amylase variant of the invention. Suitable media are available from commercial suppliers or may be prepared according to published recipes ( e . g. , as described m catalogues of tne American Type Culture Collection) . The alpha-amylase variant secreted from the host cells may conveniently be recovered from the culture medium by well-known procedures, including separating the cells from the medium by centrifugation or filtration, and precipitating protemaceous components of the medium by means of a salt such as ammonium sulphate, followed by the use of chromatographic procedures such as ion exchange chromatography, affinity chromatography, or the like. Industrial applications The alpha-amylase variants of this invention possess valuable properties allowing for a variety of industrial applications. In particular, enzyme variants of the invention are applicable as a component m washing, dishwashing and hard surface cleaning detergent compositions. Numerous variants are particularly useful m the production of sweeteners and ethanol, e.g., fuel, drinking or industrial ethanol, from starch, and/or for textile desizmg. Conditions for conventional starch- conversion processes, including starch liquefaction and/or saccharification processes, are described m, e . g. , US 3,912,590 and m EP patent publications Nos. 252 730 and 63 909. Production of sweeteners from starch: A "traditional" process for conversion of starch to fructose syrups normally consists of three consecutive enzymatic processes, viz. a liquefaction process followed by a sacchari- fication process and an lsomeπzation process. During the liquefaction process, starch is degraded to dextrms by an alpna-amylase ( e . g. , Termamyl™) at pH values between 5.5 and 6.2 and at temperatures of 95-160°C for a period of approx. 2 hours. In order to ensure optimal enzyme stability under these condi- tions, 1 mM of calcium is added (40 ppm free calcium ions) . After the liquefaction process the dextrms are converted into dextrose by addition of a glucoamylase ( e . g. , AMG™) and a debranchmg enzyme, such as an isoamylase or a pullulanase { e . g. , Promozyme™) . Before this step the pH is reduced to a value below 4.5, maintaining the high temperature (above 95°C) , and the liquefying alpha-amylase activity is denatured. The tem- 5 perature is lowered to 60 °C, and glucoamylase and debranching enzyme are added. The saccharification process proceeds for 24-72 hours. After the saccharification process the pH is increased to a value in the range of 6-8, preferably pH 7.5, and the calcium is lo removed by ion exchange . The dextrose syrup is then converted into high fructose syrup using, e . g. , an immmobilized gluco- seisomerase (such as Sweetzyme™) . At least one enzymatic improvement of this process could be envisaged: Reduction of the calcium dependency of the is liquefying alpha-amylase. Addition of free calcium is required to ensure adequately high stability of the alpha-amylase, but free calcium strongly inhibits the activity of the glucoseisomerase and needs to be removed, by means of an expensive unit operation, to an extent, which reduces the level 2c of free calcium to below 3-5 ppm. Cost savings could be obtained if such an operation could be avoided and the liquefaction process could be performed without addition of free calcium ions . To achieve that, a less calcium-dependent Termamyl-like 25 alpha-amylase which is stable and highly active at low concentrations of free calcium (< 40 ppm) is required. Such a Termamyl-like alpha-amylase should have a pH optimum at a pH in the range of 4.5-6.5, preferably in the range of 4.5-5.5. The invention also relates to a composition comprising a :: mixture of one or more variants of the invention derived from (as the parent Termamyl-like alpha-amylase) the B . stearothermophilus alpha-amylase having the sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 8 and a Termamyl-like alpha-amylase derived from the B . li cheniformis alpha-amylase having the sequence shown m SEQ 35 ID NO: 4. Further, the invention also relates to a composition comprising a mixture of one or more variants according the invention derived from (as the parent Termamyl-like alpha- amylase) the B . stearothermophilus alpha-amylase having the sequence shown m SEQ ID NO: 8 and a hybrid alpha-amylase comprising a part of the B . amyloliquefaciens alpha-amylase shown m SEQ ID NO : 6 and a part of the B . licheniformis alpha- amylase shown m SEQ ID NO: 4. The latter mentioned hybrid Termamyl-like alpha-amylase comprises the 445 C-termmal ammo acid residues of the B . licheniformis alpha-amylase shown m SEQ ID NO: 4 and the 37 N-termmal ammo acid residues of the alpha- amylase derived from B . amyloliquefaciens shown in SEQ ID NO: 6. Said latter mentioned hybrid alpha-amylase may suitably comprise the following mutations: H156Y+A181T+N190F+A209V+Q264S (using the numbering m SEQ ID NO: 4) Preferably, said latter mentioned hybrid alpha-amylase may suitably comprise the following mutations: H156Y+A181T+N190F+A209V+Q264S+I201F (using the SEQ ID NO: 4 numbering) . In the examples below said last -mentioned parent hybrid Termamyl-like alpha-amylase referred to as LE429 (shown m SEQ ID NO: 2) is used for preparing variants of the invention, which variants may be used m compositions of the invention. An alpha-amylase variant of the invention or a composition of the invention may m an aspect of the invention be used for starch liquefaction, m detergent composition, such as laundry, dish wash compositions and hard surface cleaning, ethanol production, such as fuel, drinking and industrial ethanol production, desizmg of textile, fabric and garments. MATERIALS AND METHODS Enzymes : LE174: hybrid alpha-amylase variant: LE174 is a hybrid Termamyl-like alpha-amylase being identical to the Termamyl sequence, i.e., the Bacillus lichemformi s alpha-amylase shown m SEQ ID NO: 4, except that the N- termmal 35 ammo acid residues (of the mature protein) has oeen replaced by the N-termmal 33 residues of BAN (mature protein), i.e., the Bacillus amyloliquefaciens alpha-amylase snown m SEQ ID NO: 6, which further have following mutations: H156Y+A181T+N190F+A209V+Q264S (SEQ ID NO: 4) . LE429 hybrid alpha-amylase variant: LE429 is a hybrid Termamyl-like alpha-amylase being identical to the Termamyl sequence, i.e., the Bacillus lichemformi s alpha-amylase shown m SEQ ID NO: 4, except that the N- termmal 35 ammo acid residues (of the mature protein) has been replaced by the N-termmal 33 residues of BAN (mature protein), i.e., the Bacillus amyloliquefaciens alpha-amylase shown m SEQ ID NO: 6, which further have following mutations: H156Y+A181T+N190F+A209V+Q264S+I201F (SEQ ID NO: 4) . LE429 is shown as SEQ ID NO: 2 and was constructed by SOE-PCR (Higuchi et al . 1988, Nucleic Acids Research 16:7351). Dextrozyme™ E : a balanced mixture of glucoamylase (AMG) and pullulanase obtainable from selected strains of Aspergillus mger and Bacillus deramificans (available from Novo Nordisk A/S) Fermentation and purification of alpha-amylase variants A B . subtilis strain harbouring the relevant expression plasmid is streaked on an LB-agar plate with 10 micro g/ml kanamycm from -80°C stock, and grown overnight at 37°C. The colonies are transferred to 100 ml BPX media supplemented with 10 micro g/ml kanamycm m a 500 ml shaking flask. Composition of BPX medium: Potato starch 100 g/1 Barley flour 50 g/1 BAN 5000 SKB 0.1 g/1 Sodium casemate 10 g/1 Soy Bean Meal 20 g/1 Na 2 HP0 4 , 12 H 2 0 9 g/1 Pluromc™ 0.1 g/1 The culture is shaken at 37°C at 270 rpm for 5 days. Cells and cell debris are removed from the fermentation broth by centπfugation at 4500 rpm m 20-25 minutes. Afterwards the supernatant is filtered to obtain a completely clear solution. The filtrate is concentrated and washed on an UF- filter (10000 cut off membrane) and the buffer is changed to 20mM Acetate pH 5.5. The UF-filtrate is applied on a S-sepharose F.F. and elution is carried out by step elution with 0.2M NaCl 5 m the same buffer. The eluate is dialysed against lOmM Tris, pH 9.0 and applied on a Q-sepharose F.F. and eluted with a linear gradient from 0-0.3M NaCl over 6 column volumes. The fractions that contain the activity (measured by the Phadebas assay) are pooled, pH was adjusted to pH 7.5 and remaining color was ic removed by a treatment with 0.5% W/vol . active coal m 5 minutes . Activity determination - (KNU) One Kilo alpha-amylase Unit (1 KNU) is the amount of enzyme is which breaks down 5.26 g starch (Merck, Amylum Solubile, Erg. B 6, Batch 9947275) per hour m Novo Nordisk' s standard method for determination of alpha-amylase based upon the following condition: Substrate soluble starch 20 Calcium content m solvent 0.0043 M Reaction time 7-20 minutes Temperature 37°C pH 5.6 Detailed description of Novo Nordisk' s analytical method (AF 25 9) is available on request. Assay for Alpha-Amylase Activity Alpha-Amylase activity is determined by a method employing Phadebas ® tablets as substrate. Phadebas tablets (Phadebas ® 3 Amylase Test, supplied by Pharmacia Diagnostic) contain a cross- linked insoluble blue-coloured starch polymer, which has been mixed with bovine serum albumin and a buffer substance and tabletted. For every single measurement one tablet is suspended m a 35 tube containing 5 ml 50 mM Britton-Robmson buffer (50 mM acetic acid, 50 mM phosphoric acid, 50 mM boric acid, 0.1 mM CaCl 2 , pH adjusted to the value of interest with NaOH) . The test is performed m a water bath at the temperature of interest . The alpha-amylase to be tested is diluted m x ml of 50 mM Britton- Robmson buffer. 1 ml of this alpha-amylase solution is added to the 5 ml 50 mM Britton-Robmson buffer. The starch is hydrolysed by the alpha-amylase giving soluble blue fragments. The absorbance of the resulting blue solution, measured spectrophotometπcally at 620 nm, is a function of the alpha- amylase activity. It is important that the measured 620 nm absorbance after 10 or 15 minutes of incubation (testing time) is m the range of 0.2 to 2.0 absorbance units at 620 nm. In this absorbance range there is linearity between activity and absorbance (Lambert -Beer law) . The dilution of the enzyme must therefore be adjusted to fit this criterion. Under a specified set of conditions (temp., pH, reaction time, buffer conditions) 1 mg of a given alpha- amylase will hydrolyse a certain amount of substrate and a blue colour will be produced. The colour intensity is measured at 620 nm. The measured absorbance is directly proportional to the specific activity (activity/mg of pure alpha-amylase protein) of the alpha-amylase m question under the given set of conditions. Determining Specific Activity The specific activity is determined using the Phadebas assay (Pharmacia) as activity/mg enzyme. Measuring the pH activity profile (pH stability) The variant is stored m 20 mM TRIS ph 7.5 , 0.1 mM, CaCl 2 and tested at 30°C, 50 mM Britton-Robmson, 0.1 mM CaCl 2 . The pH activity is measured at pH 4.0, 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, 6.0, 7.0, 8.0, 9.5, 9.5, 10, and 10.5, using the Phadebas assay described above. Determination Of AGU Activity and As AGU/mg One Novo Amyloglucosidase Unit (AGU) is defined as the amount of enzyme, which hydrolyzes 1 micromole maltose per minute at 37°C and pH 4.3. A detailed description of the analytical method (AEL-SM-0131) is available on request from Novo Nordisk. The activity is determined as AGU/ml by a method modified after (AEL-SM-0131) using the Glucose GOD-Perid kit from Boehrmger Mannheim, 124036. Standard: AMG-standard, batch 7- 1195, 195 AGU/ml. 375 microL substrate (1% maltose m 50 mM Sodium acetate, pH 4.3) is incubated 5 minutes at 37°C. 25 microL enzyme diluted m sodium acetate is added. The reaction is stopped after 10 minutes by adding 100 microL 0.25 M NaOH. 20 microL is transferred to a 96 well microtitre plate and 200 microL GOD-Perid solution is added. After 30 minutes at room temperature, the absorbance is measured at 650 nm and the activity calculated AGU/ml from the AMG-standard. The specific activity m AGU/mg is then calculated from the activity (AGU/ml) divided with the protein concentration (mg/ml) . EXAMPLES EXAMPLE 1 Construction of Termamyl variants in accordance with the invention Termamyl (B . lichemformis alpha-amylase SEQ ID NO: 4) is expressed m B . subtilis from a plasmid denoted pDN1528. This plasmid contains the complete gene encoding Termamyl, a yL, the expression of which is directed by its own promoter. Further, the plasmid contains the origin of replication, on , from plasmid pUBHO and the cat gene from plasmid pC194 conferring resistance towards chloramphenicol. pDN1528 is shown m Fig. 9 of WO 96/23874. A specific mutagenesis vector containing a major part of the coding region of SEQ ID NO: 3 was prepared. The important features of this vector, denoted pJeENl , include an origin of replication derived from the pUC plasmids, the cat gene conferring resistance towards chloramphenicol, and a frameshift-containing version of the bla gene, the wild type of which normally confers resistance towards ampicillm (amp phenotype) . This mutated version results m an amp s phenotype. The plasmid pJeENl is shown m Fig. 10 of WO 96/23874, and che E . coli origin of replication, ori , bla, cat, the 5 '-truncated version of the Termamyl amylase gene, and selected restriction sites are indicated on the plasmid. Mutations are introduced m a yL by the method described by Deng and Nickoloff (1992, Anal. Biochem. 200, pp. 81-88) except that plasmids with the "selection primer" (primer #6616; see below) incorporated are selected based on the amp R phenotype of transformed E. coli cells harboring a plasmid with a repaired bla gene, instead of employing the selection by restriction enzyme digestion outlined by Deng and Nickoloff. Chemicals and enzymes used for the mutagenesis were obtained from the ChameleonO mutagenesis kit from Stratagene (catalogue number 200509) . After verification of the DNA sequence m variant plasmids, the truncated gene, containing the desired alteration, is subcloned into pDN1528 as a Pstl-EcoRI fragment and transformed into the protease- and amylase-depleted Bacillus subtilis strain SHA273 (described m W092/11357 and WO95/10603) m order to express the variant enzyme. The Termamyl variant V54W was constructed by the use of the following mutagenesis primer (written 5 ' to 3 ' , left to right) : PG GTC GTA GGC ACC GTA GCC CCA ATC CGC TTG (SEQ ID NO: 9) The Termamyl variant A52W + V54W was constructed by the use of the following mutagenesis primer (written 5 ' to 3 ' , left to right) : PG GTC GTA GGC ACC GTA GCC CCA ATC CCA TTG GCT CG (SEQ ID NO: 10) Primer #6616 (written 5' to 3', left to right; P denotes a 5' phosphate) : P CTG TGA CTG GTG AGT ACT CAA CCA AGT C (SEQ ID NO: 11) The Termamyl variant V54E was constructed by the use of the following mutagenesis primer (written 5' -3', left to right) : PGG TCG TAG GCA CCG TAG CCC TCA TCC GCT TG (SEQ ID NO: 12) The Termamyl variant V54M was constructed by the use of the following mutagenesis primer (written 5' -3', left to right) : PGG TCG TAG GCA CCG TAG CCC ATA TCC GCT TG (SEQ ID NO : 13) The Termamyl variant V54I was constructed by the use of the following mutagenesis primer (written 5' -3', left to right) : PGG TCG TAG GCA CCG TAG CCA ATA TCC GCT TG (SEQ ID NO: 14) The Termamyl variants Y290E and Y290K were constructed by the use of the following mutagenesis primer (written 5' -3', left to right) : PGC AGC ATG GAA CTG CTY ATG AAG AGG CAC GTC AAA C (SEQ ID NO:15) Y represents an equal mixture of C and T. The presence of a codon encoding either Glutamate or Lysme m position 290 was verified by DNA sequencing. The Termamyl variant N190F was constructed by the use of the following mutagenesis primer (written 5' -3', left to right) : PCA TAG TTG CCG AAT TCA TTG GAA ACT TCC C (SEQ ID NO: 16) The Termamyl variant N188P+N190F was constructed by the use of the following mutagenesis primer (written 5' -3', left to right) : PCA TAG TTG CCG AAT TCA GGG GAA ACT TCC CAA TC (SEQ ID NO : 17) The Termamyl variant H140K+H142D was constructed by the use of the following mutagenesis primer (written 5' -3', left to right) : PCC GCG CCC CGG GAA ATC AAA TTT TGT CCA GGC TTT AAT TAG (SEQ ID NO: 18) The Termamyl variant H156Y was constructed by the use of the following mutagenesis primer (written 5'-3', left to right) : PCA AAA TGG TAC CAA TAC CAC TTA AAA TCG CTG (SEQ ID NO : 19) The Termamyl variant A181T was constructed by the use of the following mutagenesis primer (written 5' -3', left to right) : PCT TCC CAA TCC CAA GTC TTC CCT TGA AAC (SEQ ID NO : 20) The Termamyl variant A209V was constructed by the use of the following mutagenesis primer (written 5' -3', left to right) : PCTT AAT TTC TGC TAC GAC GTC AGG ATG GTC ATA ATC (SEQ ID NO: 21) The Termamyl variant Q264S was constructed by the use of the following mutagenesis primer (written 5' -3', left to right) : PCG CCC AAG TCA TTC GAC CAG TAC TCA GCT ACC GTA AAC (SEQ ID NO: 22) The Termamyl variant S187D was constructed by the use of the following mutagenesis primer (written 5' -3', left to right) : PGC CGT TTT CAT TGT CGA CTT CCC AAT CCC (SEQ ID NO: 23) The Termamyl variant DELTA (K370-G371-D372 ) (i.e., deleted of ammo acid residues nos. 370, 371 and 372) was constructed by the use of the following mutagenesis primer (written 5' -3', left to right) : PGG AAT TTC GCG CTG ACT AGT CCC GTA CAT ATC CCC (SEQ ID NO: 24) The Termamyl variant DELTA (D372 -S373 -Q374) was constructed by the use of the following mutagenesis primer (written 5' -3', left to right): PGG CAG GAA TTT CGC GAC CTT TCG TCC CGT ACA TAT C (SEQ ID NO: 25) The Termamyl variants A181T and A209V were combined to A181T+A209V by digesting the A181T containing pDN1528-lιke plasmid (i.e., pDN1528 containing withm amyL the mutation resulting m the A181T alteration,) and the A209V-contammg pDN1528-lιke plasmid (i.e., pDN1528 containing withm a yL the mutation resulting m the A209V alteration) with restriction enzyme Clal which cuts the pDN1528-lιke plasmids twice resulting m a fragment of 1116 bp and the vector-part (i.e. contains the plasmid origin of replication) of 3850 bp . The fragment containing the A209V mutation and the vector part containing the A181T mutation were purified by QIAquick gel extraction kit (purchased from QIAGEN) after separation on an agarose gel. The fragment and the vector were ligated and transformed into the protease and amylase depleted Bacillus subtili s strain referred to above. Plasmid from amy+ (clearing zones on starch containing agar-plates) and chloramphenicol resistant transformants were analysed for the presence of both mutations on the plasmid. In a similar way as described above, H156Y and A209V were combined utilizing restriction endonucleases Acc65I and EcoRI , giving H156Y+A209V. H156Y +A209V and A181T+A209V were combined into H156Y+ A181T+A209V by the use of restriction endonucleases Acc65I and Hindlll. The 35 N-termmal residues of the mature part of Termamyl variant H156Y+ A181T+A209V were substituted by the 33 N- terminal residues of the B . amyloliquefaciens alpha-amylase (SEQ ID NO: 4) (which m the present context is termed BAN) by a SOE-PCR approach (Higuchi et al . 1988, Nucleic Acids Research 16:7351) as follows: Primer 19364 (sequence 5' -3') : CCT CAT TCT GCA GCA GCA GCC GTA AAT GGC ACG CTG (SEQ ID NO : 26) Primer 19362: CCA GAC GGC AGT AAT ACC GAT ATC CGA TAA ATG TTC CG (SEQ ID NO: 27) Primer 19363: CGG ATA TCG GTA TTA CTG CCG TCT GGA TTC (SEQ ID NO : 28) Primer 1C: CTC GTC CCA ATC GGT TCC GTC (SEQ ID NO : 29) A standard PCR, polymerase chain reaction, was carried out using the Pwo thermostable polymerase from Boehrmger Mannheim according to the manufacturer's instructions and the temperature cyclus: 5 minutes at 94°C, 25 cycles of (94°C for 30 seconds, 50°C for 45 seconds, 72°C for 1 minute) , 72°C for 10 minutes. An approximately 130 bp fragment was amplified m a first PCR denoted PCR1 with primers 19364 and 19362 on a DNA fragment containing the gene encoding the B . amyloliquefaci ens alpha-amylase. An approximately 400 bp fragment was amplified m another PCR denoted PCR2 with primers 19363 and 1C on template pDN152 8 . PCR1 and PCR2 were purified from an agarose gel and used as templates m PCR3 with primers 19364 and 1C, which resulted m a fragment of approximately 520 bp . This fragment thus contains one part of DNA encoding the N-terminus from BAN fused to a part of DNA encoding Termamyl from the 35th ammo acid. The 520 bp fragment was subcloned into a pDN1528-lιke plasmid (containing the gene encoding Termamyl variant H156Y+ A181T+A209V) by digestion with restriction endonucleases Pstl and SacII, ligation and transformation of the B . subtilis strain as previously described. The DNA sequence between restriction sites Pstl and SacII was verified by DNA sequencing m extracted plasmids from amy+ and chloramphenicol resistant transformants . The final construct containing the correct N-termmus from BAN and H156Y+ A181T+A209V was denoted BAN (1-35)+ H156Y+ A181T+A209V. N190F was combined with BAN (1-35)+ H156Y+ A181T+A209V giving BAN (1-35)+ H156Y+ A181T+N190F+A209V by carrying out mutagenesis as described above except that the sequence of amyL m pJeENl was substituted by the DNA sequence encoding Termamyl variant BAN (1-35)+ H156Y+ A181T+A209V Q264S was combined with BAN (1-35)+ H156Y+ A181T+A209V giving BAN (1-35)+ H156Y+ A181T+A209V+Q264S by carrying out mutagenesis as described above except that the sequence of amyL m pJeEN was substituted by the the DNA sequence encoding Termamyl variant BA (1-35)+ H156Y+ A181T+A209V BAN(l-35)+ H156Y+ A181T+A209V+Q264S and BAN(l-35)+ H156Y+ A181T+N190F+A209V were combined into BAN (1-35)+ H156Y+ A181T+N190F+A209V+Q264S utilizing restriction endonucleases BsaHI (BsaHI site was introduced close to the A209V mutation) and Pstl. I201F was combined with BAN(l-35)+ H156Y+ A181T+N190F+A209V+Q264S giving BAN(l-35)+ H156Y+ A181T+N190F+A209V+Q264S+I201F (SEQ ID NO: 2) by carrying out mutagenesis as described above. The mutagenesis primer AM100 was used, introduced the I201F substitution and removed simultaneously a Cla I restriction site, which facilitates easy pm-pomtmg of mutants. 5 primer AM100 : 5 ' GATGTATGCCGACTTCGATTATGACC 3' (SEQ ID NO: 30 EXAMPLE 2 Construction of Termamyl-like alpha-amylase variants with an lc altered cleavage pattern according to the invention The variant of the thermostable B . licheniformis alpha- amylase consisting comprising the 445 C-termmal ammo acid residues of the B . li cheniformi s alpha-amylase shown m SEQ ID NO: 4 and the 37 N-termmal ammo acid residues of the alpha- is amylase derived from B . amyloliquefaciens shown m SEQ ID NO: 6, and further comprising the following mutations: H156Y+A181T+N190F+A209V+Q264S+I201F (the construction of this variant is described m Example 1, and the ammo acid sequence shown m SEQ ID NO : 2) has a reduced capability of cleaving an 20 substrate close to the branching point. In an attempt to further improve the reduced capability of cleaving an substrate close to the branching point of said alpha-amylase variant site directed mutagenesis was carried out using the Mega-primer method as described by Sarkar and 25 Sommer, 1990 (BioTechmques 8: 404-407): Construction of LE313 : BAN/Termamyl hybrid + H156Y+A181T+N190F+ A209V+Q264S+V54N : Gene specific primer 27274 and mutagenic primer AM115 are 30 used to amplify by PCR an approximately 440 bp DNA fragment from a pDN1528-lιke plasmid (harbouring the BAN(1- 35) +H156Y+A181T+N190F+I201F+A209V+Q264S mutations m the gene encoding the amylase from SEQ ID NO: 4) . The 440 bp fragment is purified from an agarose gel and used 35 as a Mega-primer together with primer 113711 m a second PCR carried out on the same template. The resulting approximately 630 bp fragment is digested with restriction enzymes EcoR V and Acc65 I and the resulting approximately 370 bp DNA fragment is purified and ligated with the pDN1528-like plasmid digested with the same enzymes. Competent Bacillus subtili s SHA273 (amylase and protease low) cells are transformed with the ligation and Chlorampenicol resistant transformants are checked by DNA sequencing to verify the presence of the correct mutations on the plasmid. Primer 27274 : 5' CATAGTTGCCGAATTCATTGGAAACTTCCC 3' (SEQ ID NO : 31) Primer IB : 5' CCGATTGCTGACGCTGTTATTTGC 3' (SEQ ID NO: 32) primer AMI15: 5' GCCAAGCGGATAACGGCTACGGTGC 3' (SEQ ID NO: 33) Construction of LE314: BAN/Termamyl hybrid + H156Y+A181T+N190F+ A209V+Q264S + A52S is carried our in a similar way, except that mutagenic primer AMI16 is used. AM116: 5' GAACGAGCCAATCGGACGTGGGCTACGG 3' (SEQ ID NO: 34) Construction of LE315: BAN/Termamyl hybrid + H156Y+A181T+N190F+ A209V+Q264S + A52S+V54N is carried our m a similar way, except that mutagenic primer AMI17 is used. AM117: 5' GGAACGAGCCAATCGGATAACGGCTACGGTGC 3' (SEQ ID NO : 35) Construction of LE316: BAN/Termamyl hybrid + H156Y+A181T+N190F+ A209V+Q264S + T49L is carried our m a similar way, except that mutagenic primer AMI18 is used. AMI18 : 5' GCATATAAGGGACTGAGCCAAGCGG 3' (SEQ ID NO : 36) Construction LE317: BAN/Termamyl hybrid + H156Y+A181T+N190F+ A209V+Q264S + T49L+G107A is carried our m a similar way, except that mutagenic primer AMI18 and mutagenic primer AMI19 s are used simultaneously. AM119: 5' CAACCACAAAGCCGGCGCTGATGCG 3' (SEQ ID NO: 37) o Construction of LE318: BAN/Termamyl hybrid + H156Y+A181T+N190F+ A209V+Q264S + A52S+V54N+T49L+G107A is carried our m a similar way, except that mutagenic primer AM120 and mutagenic primer AMI19 are used simultaneously. 5 AM120: 5' GCATATAAGGGACTGAGCCAATCGGATAACGGCTACGGTGC 3' (SEQ ID NO: 38) Construction of LE 319: BAN/Termamyl hybrid + 0 H156Y+A181T+N190F+ A209V+Q264S + A52S+V54N+T49L is carried our a similar way, except that mutagenic primer AM120 is used. Construction of LE320: BAN/Termamyl hybrid + H156Y+A181T+N190F+ A209V+Q264S + G107A is carried our m a similar way, except that mutagenic primer AMI19 is used. 5 Construction of LE322 : BAN/Termamyl hybrid + H156Y+A181T+N190F+A209V+Q264S + Q51R+A52S is carried our m a similar way, except that mutagenic primer AM121 is used. AM121: 5' GAACGAGCCGATCGGACGTGGGCTACGG 3' (SEQ ID NO: 39) 0 Construction of LE323 : BAN/Termamyl hybrid + H156Y+A181T+N190F+ A209V+Q264S + A52N is carried our m a similar way, except that mutagenic primer AM122 is used. AM122 : 5' GAACGAGCCAAAACGACGTGGGCTACGG 3' (SEQ ID NO : 40) 5 EXAMPLE 3 Testing of LE429 variants (saccharification) The standard reaction conditions were Substrate concentration 30 % w/w Temperature 60 °C Initial pH (at 60°C) 5.5 Enzyme dosage Glucoamylase 0.18 AGU/g DS Pullulanase 0.06 PUN/g DS Alpha-amylase 10 micro g enzyme/g DS Dextrozyme™ E was used to provide glucoamylase and pullulanase activities Substrates for saccharification were prepared by dissolving common corn starch in deionized water and adjusting the dry substance to approximately 30% w/w. The pH was adjusted to 5.5 (measured at 60°C) , and aliquots of substrate corresponding to 10 g dry weight were transferred to blue cap glass flasks. The flasks were then placed in a shaking water bath equilibrated at 60 °C, and the enzymes added. The pH was readjusted to 5.5 where necessary. The samples were taken after 48 hours of saccharification; the pH was adjusted to about 3.0, and then heated in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes to inactivate the enzymes. After cooling, the samples were treated with approximately 0.1 g mixed bed ion exchange resin (BIO-RAD 501 X8 (D) ) for 30 minutes on a rotary mixer to remove salts and soluble N. After filtration, the carbohydrate composition was determined by HPLC. The following results were obtained: The parent alpha-amylase for the variants is LE429. Compared with the control, the presence of an active alpha-amylase variant of the invention during liquefaction results in decreased panose levels (DP3) . Especially the T49L+G107A variant of LE429 and the A52S+V54N+T49L variant of LE429, respectively, result in a drastically decreased panose level (DP3) . If these alpha- amylase variants are used for starch liquefaction, it will not be necessary to inactivate the enzyme before the commencement of saccharification. Example 4 Liquefaction and saccharification of LE429 variants The experiment in Example 3 was repeated for a number of other LE429 variants under the same conditions. The result is shown below Variant/sugar profile DPI DP2 DP3 DP4+ T49V+G107A 95 9% 1 72% 1.27% 1.11% T49Y+G107A 95 3% 1 73% 1.29% 1.65% T49N+G107A 95 7% 1 64% 1.51% 1.18% T49L+A52S+G107A 95 7% 1 73% 0.95% 1.67% T49L+A52T+G107A 95 8% 1 66% 1.03% 1.48% T49L+A52F+G107A 95 7% 1 69% 1.16% 1.42% T49L+A52L+G107A 95 5% 1 70% 1.40% 1.38% T49L+A52I+G107A 95 9% 1 72% 1.31% 1.07% T49L+A52V+G107A 94 7% 1 69% 1.16% 2.44% T49L+A52V+G107A+A111V 94.5% 1.75% 0.72% 2.99% LE429 94.9% 1.71% 1.85% 1.51% Example 5 The experiment in Example 3 was repeated for a number of LE429 variants, except that the liquefaction was carried out at 95°C, pH 6.0 and the saccharification at 60°C, pH 4.5 , 40 ppm CaCl 2 , followed by inactivation. The variant referred to below are LE429 variant. The results found are as follows: Variant/sugar profile DP4+ DP3 DP2 DPI T49F 1.15 0.92 1.83 96.12 T49D+G107A 0.84 1.03 1.82 96.3 T49I+G107A 0.97 0.64 1.84 96.55 T49L+G107A 0.96 0.81 1.82 96.42 T49L+A52S+G107A 1.37 0.75 1.88 96.01 T49L+A52T+G107A 0.87 0.81 1.8 96.52 T49L+A52F+G107A 0.98 0.83 1.87 96.31 T49V+G107A 0.65 0.8 2.13 96.43 T49Y+G107A 0.83 0.94 1.89 96.35 LE429 1.16 1.21 1.77 95.87 REFERENCES CITED Klein, C, et al . , Biochemistry 1992 , 31, 8740-8746, Mizuno, H., et al . , J. Mol . Biol . (1993) 234, 1282-1283, Chang, C, et al , J " . Mol . Biol . (1993) 229, 235-238, Larson, S.B., J. Mol . Biol . (1994) 235, 1560-1584, Lawson, C.L., J. Mol . Biol . (1994) 236, 590-600, Qian, M., et al . , J. Mol . Biol . (1993) 231, 785-799, Brady, R.L., et al . , Acta Crystallogr. sect . B, 47, 527-535, Swift, H.J., et al . , Acta Crystallogr. sect . B, 47, 535-544 A. Kadziola, Ph.D. Thesis: "An alpha-amylase from Barley and its Complex with a Substrate Analogue Inhibitor Studied by X-ray Crystallography" , Department of Chemistry University of Copenhagen 1993 MacGregor, E.A., Food Hydrocolloids, 1987, Vol .1 , No. 5-6, p. B. Diderichsen and L. Christiansen, Cloning of a maltogenic amylase from Bacillus stearothermophilus, FEMS Microbiol . letters: 56: pp. 53-60 (1988) Hudson et al . , Practical Immunology, Third edition (1989), Blackwell Scientific Publications, Sambrook et al . , Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, 2nd Ed., Cold Spring Harbor, 1989 S.L. Beaucage and M.H. Caruthers, Tetrahedron Letters 22, 1981, pp. 1859-1869 Matthes et al . , The EMBO J. 3, 1984, pp. 801-805. R.K. Saiki et al . , Science 239, 1988, pp. 487-491. Mormaga et al . , (1984, Biotechnology 2:646-639) Nelson and Long, Analytical Biochemistry 180, 1989, pp. 147-151 Hunkapiller et al . , 1984, Nature 310:105-111 R. Higuchi, B. Krummel, and R.K. Saiki (1988) . 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Claims: CLAIMS 1. A variant of a parent Termamyl-like alpha-amylase, comprising an alteration at one or more positions selected from the group s of: W13, G48, T49, S50, Q51, A52 , D53 , V54 , G57, G107, G108, Alll, S168, M197, wherein (a) the alteration (s) are independently (I) an insertion of an ammo acid downstream of the ammo acid which occupies the position, o (ii) a deletion of the ammo acid which occupies the position, or (m) a substitution of the ammo acid which occupies the position with a different ammo acid, (b) the variant has alpha-amylase activity and (c) each position s corresponds to a position of the ammo acid sequence of the parent Termamyl-like alpha-amylase having the ammo acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4. 2. The variant of claims 1, comprises a mutation m a position 0 corresponding to at least one of the following mutations m the ammo acid sequence shown m SEQ ID NO: 4: V54N, A52S, A52S+V54N, T49L, T49+G107A, A52S+V54N+T49L+G107A, A52S+V54N+T49L, G107A, Q51R, Q51R+A52S, A52N; or T49F+G107A, T49V+G107A, T49D+G107A, T49Y+G107A, T49S+G107A, 5 T49N+G107A, T49I+G107A, T49L+A52S+G107A, T49L+A52T+G107A, T49L+A52F+G107A, T49L+A52L+G107A, T49L+A52I+G107A, T49L+A52V+G107A; or T49V, T49I, T49D, T49N, T49S, T49Y, T49F, T49W, T49M, T49E, T49Q, T49K, T49R, A52T, A52L, A52I, A52V, A52M, A52F, A52Y, 0 A52W, V54M, G107V, G07I, G107L, G107C. 3. The variant of claims 1 or 2 , comprising a mutation m a position corresponding to at least one of the following mutations m the ammo acid sequence shown m SEQ ID NO: 4: 5 W13F,L, I,V,Y,A; G48A,V, S,T, I,L; *48aD or *48aY (i.e., insertion of D or Y) ; T4 9X ; *49aX (i.e., insertion of any ammo acid residue) S50X, m particular D, Y, L, T, V, I ; Q51R,K; 5 A52X, m particular A52S , N, T, F, L, I , V; D53E,Q,Y,I,N,S,T,V,L; V54X, m particular V54I ,N, W, Y, F, L; G57S,A,V,L,I,F,Y,T; G107X, m particular G107A, V, S, T, I , L, C; o G108X, m particular G108A, V, S, T, I , L; A111V, I,L; S168Y; M197X, m particular Y, F, L, I , T, A, G. 5 4. The variant of any of claims 1-3, comprises the following mutations corresponding to at least one of the following mutations m the ammo acid sequence shown m SEQ ID NO: 4: T49X+A52X+V54N/I/L/Y/F/W+G107A. 0 5. The variant of claims 1-4, further comprising G108A. 6 The variant of claim 1-5, comprises the following mutations corresponding to at least one of the following mutations m the 5 ammo acid sequence shown m SEQ ID NO: 4: T49L+G107A; T49I+G107A; T49L+G107A+V54I; T49I+G107A+V54I; c A52S+V54N+T49L+G107A; A52S+V54I+T49L+G107A; A52S+T49L+G107A; A52T+T49L+G107A; A52S+V54N+T49I+G107A; 5 A52S+V54I+T49I+G107A; A52S+T49I+G107A; T49L+G108A; T49I+G108A; T49L+G108A+V54I; T49I+G108A+V54I . 5 7. A variant of any of claims 1-6, wherein said variant has a reduced capability of cleaving an oligo-saccharide substrate close to the branching point as compared to the parent alpha- amylase . o 8. A variant of any of claims 1-7, which further exhibits improved substrate specificity and/or improved specific activity relative to the parent Termamyl-like alpha-amylase. 9. A variant of any of claims 1-8, wherein the parent alpha- s amylase is a hybrid alpha-amylase of SEQ ID NO: 4 and SEQ ID NO: 6. 10. The variant of any of claims 1-9, wherein the parent hybrid alpha-amylase is a hybrid alpha-amylase comprising the 445 C- 0 terminal ammo acid residues of the B . licheniformis alpha- amylase shown m SEQ ID NO: 4 and the 37 N-termmal ammo acid residues of the alpha-amylase derived from B . amyloliquefaciens shown m SEQ ID NO : 6. 5 11. The variant of any of claims 1-10, wherein the parent hybrid Termamyl-like alpha-amylase further has the following mutations: H156Y+A181T+N190F+A209V+Q264S (using the numbering m SEQ ID NO: 4) or LE174. 0 12. The variant of any of claims 1-11, wherein tne parent hybrid Termamyl-like alpha-amylase further has the following mutations: H156Y+A181T+N190F+A209V+Q264S+I201F (using the numbering of SEQ ID NO: 4) or LE429. ^ 13. A DNA construct comprising a DNA sequence encoding an alpha- amylase variant according to any of claims 1-12. 14. A recombinant expression vector which carries a DNA construct according to claim 13. 15. A cell which is transformed with a DNA construct according to claim 13 or a vector according to claim 14. 16. A cell of claim 9, which is a microorganism, m particular a bacterium or a fungus, such as a gram positive bacterium such as Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus licheniformis , Bacillus lentus, Bacillus brevis, Bacillus stearothermophilus , Bacillus alkalophilus , Bacillus amyloliquefaciens , Bacillus coagulans , Bacillus circulans, Bacillus lautus or Bacillus thuringiensis . 17. A composition comprising: (I) a mixture of the alpha-amylase from B . licheniformis having the sequence shown m SEQ ID NO : 4 with one or more variants of claims 1-12 derived from (as the parent Termamyl-like alpha- amylase) the J3. stearothermophilus alpha-amylase having the sequence shown m SEQ ID NO: 8; or (ii) a mixture of the alpha-amylase from B . stearothermophilus having the sequence shown m SEQ ID NO: 8 with one or more variants of claims 1-12 derived from one or more other parent Termamyl-like alpha-amylases; or (m) a mixture of one or more variants of claim 1-12 derived from (as the parent Termamyl-like alpha-amylase) the B . stearothermophilus alpha-amylase having the sequence shown SEQ ID NO : 8 with one or more variants according to the invention derived from one or more other parent Termamyl-like alpha-amylases . 18. A composition comprising: a mixture of one or more variants of claims 1-12 derived from (as the parent Termamyl-like alpha-amylase) the B . stearothermophilus alpha-amylase having the sequence shown m SEQ ID NO: 8 and a Termamyl-like alpha-amylase derived from the B . licheniformis alpha-amylase having the sequence shown m SEQ ID NO: 4. 19. A composition comprising: a mixture of one or more variants of claims 1-12 derived from (as the parent Termamyl-like alpha-amylase) the B . stearothermophilus alpha-amylase having the sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 8 and a hybrid alpha-amylase comprising a part of the B . amyloliquefaciens alpha-amylase shown in SEQ ID NO: 6 and a pare of the B . licheniformis alpha-amylase shown in SEQ ID NO: 4. 20. A composition comprising: a mixture of one or more variants of claims 1-12 derived from (as the parent Termamyl-like alpha-amylase) a hybrid alpha- amylase comprising a part of the B . amyloliquefaciens alpha- amylase shown in SEQ ID NO: 6 and a part of the B . licheniformis alpha-amylase shown in SEQ ID NO: 4. 21. A composition of claim 20, wherein the hybrid alpha-amylase is a hybrid alpha-amylase comprising the 445 C-terminal amino acid residues of the B . licheniformis alpha-amylase shown m SEQ ID NO : 4 and the 37 N-terminal amino acid residues of the alpha- amylase derived from B . amyloliquefaciens shown in SEQ ID NO: 6. 22. A composition of claim 21, wherein the hybrid alpha-amylase further has the following mutations: H156Y+A181T+N190F+A209V+Q264S (using the numbering in SEQ ID NO: 4) or LE174. 23. A composition of claim 21, wherein the hybrid alpha-amylase further has the following mutations: H156Y+A181T+N190F+A209V+Q264S-rI201F as shown m SEQ ID NO: 2 or LE429. 24. A method for generating a variant of a parent Termamyl-like alpha-amylase, which variant exhibits a reduced capability of cleaving a substrate close to the branching point, and further exhibits improved substrate specificity and/or improved specific activity relative to the parent, the method comprising : (a) subjecting a DNA sequence encoding the parent Termamyl- like alpha-amylase to random mutagenesis, (b) expressing the mutated DNA sequence obtained in step (a) in a host cell, and (c) screening for host cells expressing a mutated alpha-amylase which has increased stability at low pH and low calcium concentration relative to the parent alpha-amylase. 25. Use of an alpha-amylase variant of any of claims 1-12 or a composition of any of claims 17-23 for starch liquefaction; in detergent composition, such as laundry, dish washing and hard surface cleaning compositions; ethanol production, such as fuel, drinking and industrial ethanol production; desizing of textiles, fabrics or garments.

Inventors: ANDERSEN CARSTEN, BISGAARD-FRANTZEN HENRIK, JOERGENSEN CHRISTEL THEA, KJAERULFF SOEREN, SVENDSEN ALLAN, ANDERSEN, CARSTEN, BISGAARD-FRANTZEN, HENRIK, JOERGENSEN, CHRISTEL, THEA, KJAERULFF, SOEREN, SVENDSEN, ALLAN
Applicants: NOVONORDISK AS, NOVO NORDISK A/S
Application year: 2000
Main classification: C12N9
IPC codes: C11D3, C12N1, C12N5, C12N9, C12N15, C12P7, C12P19, C12R1, C12S11