Abstract:
The inventors have identified polypeptides having lipase activity in anaerobic thermophilic bacteria. Accordingly, the invention provides a process for hydrolyzing an ester bond in a substrate, which comprises treating the substrate with a particular lipase (a polypeptide having lipase activity). The invention also provides a lipase for use in the process and a polynucleotide encoding the lipase.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a 35 U.S.C. 371 national application of PCT/DK2005/000639 filed Oct. 5, 2005 which claims priority or the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119 of Danish application no. PA 2004 01545 filed Oct. 8, 2004 and U.S. provisional application No. 60/618,112 filed Oct. 13, 2004 the contents of which are fully incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a process for hydrolyzing an ester bond in a substrate by treating it with a lipase. It also relates to a lipase for use in the process and to a polynucleotide encoding the lipase. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The strains  Thermoanaerobacter thermohydrosulfuricus  DSM 7021 , Thermoanaerobacter brockii  subsp.  brockii  DSM 1457 and  Caldanaerobacter subterraneus  subsp.  tengcongensis  DSM 15242 are publicly available. 
     The full genome sequence of  Thermoanaerobacter tengcongensis  has been published (Bao et al., Genome Res. 12, 689-700, 2002 (GenBank AE008691)). SWALL:Q8R921 shows a sequence 258 of amino acids, described as “hydrolases of the alpha/beta super-family” (AAM25001.1). 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The inventors have identified polypeptides having lipase activity in anaerobic thermophilic bacteria. 
     Accordingly, the invention provides a process for hydrolyzing an ester bond in a substrate, which comprises treating the substrate with a lipase (a polypeptide having lipase activity). The invention also provides a lipase for use in the process and a polynucleotide encoding the lipase. 
     The polypeptide may have the sequence SEQ ID NO: 2 or 4 or have a high degree of identity to one of these, or it may be derived from one of these by substitution, deletion, and/or insertion of one or more amino acids. 
     The polynucleotide may have the sequence SEQ ID NO: 1 or 3 or have a high degree of identity or may hybridize to one of these, or it may be part of the genome present in strain DSM 7021, DSM 1457, or DSM 15242 that can be amplified with the pair of primers LipCtTb-For LipCtTb-Rev (SEQ ID NO: 5-6) or with the pair LipTtg-for and LipTtg-rev (SEQ ID NO: 7-8). 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Genomic DNA Source 
     DNA sequences encoding lipases may be isolated from anaerobic thermophilic strains of  Caldanaerobacter, Thermoanaerobacter, Thermoanaerobium  or  Clostridium . Thus, DNA sequences and polypeptides shown in the sequence listing were isolated from the organisms indicated below. As indicated, identical sequences were obtained from two organisms. 
     
       
         
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Poly- 
               
               
                 Taxonomic 
                   
                 Deposit 
                 DNA 
                 peptide 
               
               
                 classification 
                 Basonym 
                 number 
                 sequence 
                 sequence 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                 
                   Thermoanaerobacter 
                 
                 
                   Clostridium 
                 
                 DSM  
                 SEQ ID 
                 SEQ ID 
               
               
                   thermo - 
                   thermo - 
                 7021 
                 NO: 1 
                 NO: 2 
               
               
                 
                   hydrosulfuricus 
                 
                 
                   hydrosulfuricum 
                 
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 
                   Thermoanaerobacter 
                 
                 
                   Thermoanaerobium 
                 
                 DSM  
                 SEQ ID 
                 SEQ ID 
               
               
                   brockii  subsp.  
                 
                   brockii 
                 
                 1457 
                 NO: 1 
                 NO: 2 
               
               
                 
                   brockii 
                 
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 
                   Caldanaerobacter 
                 
                 
                   Thermoanaerobacter 
                 
                 DSM  
                 SEQ ID 
                 SEQ ID 
               
               
                   subterraneus  subsp. 
                 
                   tengcongensis 
                 
                 15242 
                 NO: 3 
                 NO: 4 
               
               
                 
                   tengcongensis 
                 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     The strains are commercially available from DSMZ—Deutsche Sammlung von Mikro-organismen und Zellkulturen GmbH, Mascheroder Weg 1b, 38124 Braunschweig, GERMANY. 
     Sequence Identity 
     Polypeptides and polynucleotides of the invention may have an identity above 70%, above 80%, above 90% or above 95% to any of SEQ ID NO: 1-4. The alignment of two sequences and the calculation of amino acid or nucleotide identity may be done as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,162,628. 
     Lipase Properties 
     The lipase is active on a wide range of esters, particularly water-insoluble substrates, including triacyl glycerols (triglycerides) and p-nitrophenyl palmitate. The lipase exhibits an unusual preference for 2-positional ester bonds in triglycerides. 
     The lipase is S-anantioselective, forming (S)-alcohols from racemic esters. 
     Industrial Use 
     The lipase can be used as an additive to detergents, e.g. as described in WO 2002062973. 
     The lipase can be used to produce diglycerides from triglyceride and glycerol. 
     The lipase can be used for enantioselective ester hydrolysis by hydrolysis of a racemic ester mixture. An example is (S)-(−)-3-butyn-2-ol which is useful as a pharmaceutical intermediate. 
     The lipase can be used in baking by adding it to a dough to prepare a dough-based product, particularly a baked product, e.g. as described in WO 9826057, WO 0032758, WO 2003100044, WO 2004064537 or Danish patent application PA 2003 01762. 
     The lipase can be used for transesterification of triglycerides, e.g. as described in WO 9522606 or WO 9933964. 
     The lipase can be used ester synthesis for example in biodiesel production. 
     The lipase can be used for polymerization reactions for example condensation of diacids and dialcohols. 
     EXAMPLES 
     Example 1 
     Amplification of the Complete Lipase Gene 
     The complete lipase genes from  Thermoanaerobacter thermohydrosulfuricus  DSM7021 and  Thermoanaerobacter brockii  subsp.  brockii  DSM 1457 were amplified with the following primers as indicated: 
     
       
         
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                   
                 SEQ 
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Name 
                 ID 
                 Sequence 
                 Length 
                 Tm 
                 % GC 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                 LipCtTb- 
                 SEQ  
                 5′-ATGCAAAAGGCTG 
                 23 
                 55.3° C. 
                 34.8% 
               
               
                 For 
                 ID 
                 TTGAAATTAC-3′ 
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 NO: 5 
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                   
               
               
                 LipCtTb- 
                 SEQ  
                 5′-TTATCCCTTTAAC 
                 25 
                 54.8° C. 
                 28.0% 
               
               
                 Rev 
                 ID 
                 AATTCCTTTTTG-3′ 
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 NO: 6 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     The complete lipase gene from  Caldanaerobacter subterraneus  subsp.  tengcongensis  DSM 15242 was amplified with the following primers as indicated: 
     
       
         
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                   
                 SEQ 
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Name 
                 ID 
                 Sequence 
                 Length 
                 Tm 
                 % GC 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                 LipTtg- 
                 SEQ  
                 5′-ATGCAGAAGGC 
                 23 
                 58.9° 
                 43.5% 
               
               
                 for 
                 ID 
                 TGTAGAGTTTAC-3′ 
                   
                 C. 
                   
               
               
                   
                 NO: 7 
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                   
               
               
                 LipTtg- 
                 SEQ  
                 5′-TTATCCCTTTAA 
                 25 
                 54.8° 
                 28.0% 
               
               
                 rev 
                 ID 
                 TTCTCTTTCAAAG-3′ 
                   
                 C. 
                   
               
               
                   
                 NO: 8 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     Example 2 
     Production of Lipase from  T. thermohydrosulfuricus    
     The strain DSM 7021 was cultivated on a rotary shaker (160 rpm) for 32 h at 65° C. in 50 ml bottles containing 20 ml of the corresponding liquid medium. 
     The basal medium contained (per liter): NaCl, 3.0 g; KH 2 PO 4 , 2.5 g; NaH 2 PO 4 , 0.8 g; MgSO 4 ×7H 2 O, 0.1 g; CaCl 2 ×2H 2 O, 0.05; FeCl 3 ×6H 2 O, 0.01 g; (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 , 1.5 g; SrCl 2 ×6H 2 O, 0.03 g; H 3 BO 3 , 0.03 g; Na 2 WO 4 , 0.03 g; yeast extract, 1.5 g; peptone, 1.5 g; trace element solution 141, 1 ml, vitamin solution 141, 1 ml; resazurin, 0.001 g; NaHCO 3 , 1.0 g; cysteine, 0.3 g; pH 7.2. Just prior to inoculation, 1 mg Na 2 S×9H 2 O was injected in 20 ml containing bottles. Additionally, 0.05 g Na 2 S 2 O 3  was added to the bottles with medium. 
     The strain was grown on the complex medium described above and was found to synthesize extracellular lipase without lipase inductors in the medium containing 0.5% glucose as carbon and energy source. The production of the enzyme paralleled growth and reached its maximum (12 U/I) after 32 h of growth at temperature 65° C. and pH 7.2. About 89% of the enzyme was found to be secreted into the culture fluid. In presence of typical lipase inductors as olive oil and Tween 80 the lipase activity did not increase. 
     The organism was identified as a lipase producer with p-nitrophenyl palmitate and additionally with olive oil as substrates. 
     Example 3 
     Purification of Lipase from  T. thermohydrosulfuricus    
     The extracellular lipase in the culture broth of Example 1 was purified by a three-step procedure. The first step was hydrophobic interaction chromatography. The lipase did not desorb within 1-0 M KCl gradient from Phenyl-Sepharose column, but eluted at 10-12% dimethylsulfoxide, separating well from the bulk of other proteins. 
     The lipase solution obtained after hydrophobic interaction chromatography was loaded on a hydroxilapatite column used as a second purification step. The lipase was eluted at the approximate mid-point of the sodium phosphate buffer gradient (220 to 250 mM range). The active fractions were further subjected to gel filtration column. The final gel filtration resulted in the three peaks. The enzyme activity was present in the second major peak. The lipase was purified approximately 133.5-fold over the crude extract with a 10.2% yield. The specific activity of the purified lipase was 12.3 U/mg. 
     SDS-PAG-electrophoresis of purified lipase heat-pretreated under the usual reducing conditions resulted in one protein band of a relative molecular mass of about 34.2 kDa. In the absence of detergent, the lipase migrated under native conditions by native PAG-electrophoresis and displayed a single band at 69 kDa, which was identical to the molecular mass of 68.5 kDa determined by gel filtration. 
     The activity of the band after native PAG-electrophoresis were determined, and activities with α-naphtyl acetate coincided with the Coomassie brilliant blue R-250 stained protein band. The lipolytic activity of the purified lipase after SDS-PAG-electrophoresis could be restored by removing the SDS with Triton X-100. This demonstrated, that the enzyme is also active a monomer. Any lipase activity was detected without treatment of Triton X-100 to wash. 
     Example 4 
     Cloning of Lipases from  C. thermohydrosulfuricum, T. brockii  and  T. tencongensis    
     Strains, Plasmids and Media 
     Bacterial cloning experiments were carried out with either  E. coli  TOP-10 (Invitrogen) or Tuner™(DE3)pLacI (Novagen) using standard techniques.  E. coli  TOP-10 was used in combination with cloning vector pCR 2.1-TOPO (Invitrogen) suitable for blue/white assays.  E. coli  Tuner™(DE3)pLacI was used in combination with vector pETBlue-1 (Novagen) containing the T7 promoter to clone and express the lipase gene. Lura-Betani medium was used for  E. coli  cells. Antibiotics were added at the followings concentrations: carbenicillin, 50 μg/ml; tetracycline, 15 μg/ml; chloramphenicol, 34 μg/ml; kanamycin, 50 μg/ml. 
     N-Terminal Amino Acid Sequence Analysis 
     The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the lipase from  C. thermohydrosulfuricum  and  T. brockii  were determined up to 17 amino acid residues. The N-terminal amino acid sequences are shown as residues 1-17 of SEQ ID NO: 2 and are 100% identical. Comparison of N-terminal sequences of the lipases from  Clostridium thermohydrosulfuricum  and  Thermoanaerobacter brockii  subsp.  brockii  with N-terminal sequence of the hydrolase (AAM2500 1.1) from  Thermoanaerobacter tencongensis  (strain MB4T, Genbank accession no. AE008691) shows a 88% homology. 
     Database Searching and Computational Analysis 
     Lipase gene sequences were obtained using the Entrez search and retrieval system at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). Regions with homology to the lipase gene sequences were obtained using BLASTP at NCBI. Alignment of the lipase genes with the  Termoanaerobacter tencongensis  hydrolase gene was performed using CLUSTALW at eBioinformatics. 
     Example 5 
     PCR Amplification of the Lipase from  T. thermohydrosulfuricus  and  T. brockii  and Cloning in pCR 2.1-TOPO Vector 
     PCR Amplification of the Lipase Gene Fragments 
     DNA was extracted from bacterial strains  T. thermohydrosulfuricus  and  T. brockii  using QIAGEN Genomic DNA Kit for isolation of genomic DNA from bacteria. Chromosomal DNA was used as a template for amplification of lipase fragments using primers (Table 1) in all possible combinations. PCR reactions were performed according to the following conditions using a Biometra® thermal cycler (model T 3000 Thermocycler): template DNA was added to a final concentration of 1.5 ng μl −1  in a buffer composed of 1×PCR-buffer, 3 mM MgCl 2 , 0.2 mM dNTPs, and 0.15 U μl −1  Taq-polymerase. Forward and reverse primers were added at a final concentration of 3 pmol μl −1 . Twenty five thermocycles were performed as follows: Seq1 (94° C., 20 s), Seq2 (55° C., 40 s), Seq3 (72° C., 1 min). 
     Oligonucleotides Used for PCR-Screening: 
                                         SEQ ID   Name   Sequence   Function                   NO: 9   LF/NT/   CTTAAGGGGGATGTTGCATCTTC   Forward           CTT                       NO: 10   LF/NT/   ATTAAGGGGGGTACTGCATCTG   Forward           ATT                       NO: 11   LF/OAH/   CATGGGTTTACCGGAAATAAAGTGG   Forward           CAT                       NO: 12   F/CRI/   TTCAGGCGAAAGCGACGGAG   Forward           TTC                       NO: 13   F/CRI/   GGAACAGGTGAAAGTGATGGAGAATT   Forward           GGA                       NO: 14   F/CRI/   GCGGTGAAAGTGATGGAGACTTT   Forward           GCG                       NO: 15   R/CRI/   TCCGTCGCTTTCGCCTGAAC   Reverse           TCC                       NO: 16   R/CRI/   AAATTCTCCATCACTTTCACCTGTTCC   Reverse           AAA                       NO: 17   R/CRI/   TCTCCATCACTTTCACCGCTG   Reverse           TCT                       NO: 18   R/CRII/   TCCTCCCATGCTGAGTCCCAA   Reverse           CAA                       NO: 19   R/CRII/   TCCTCCCATGCTGAAGCCAAG   Reverse           AAG                       NO: 20   R/CTI/   TTTTGTATGGTCCGCTCCTTCTAT   Reverse           TTT                    
Cloning of Lipase Gene Fragments
 
     The selected PCR-amplificates were ligated into vector pCR2.1-TOPO and trans-formed in competent TOP-10  E. coli  cells using standard cloning techniques (TA Cloning Kit, Invitrogen). Selection of positive clones follows by traditional blue/white screening. Plasmids were isolated using NucleoSpin Plasmid Kit (Macherey-Nagel). 
     PCR-Screening for Identification of Sequences with Homology to Lipases 
     The sequences were analyzed using BLASTN at NCBI. The 142-bp fragment with 84% identity to the nucleotide sequence of the hydrolase α/β superfamily from  Thermoanaerobacter tencongensis  was amplified with the primers F/CRI/GCG and R/CRII/CAA (SEQ ID NO: 14 and 18) using gDNA from  C. thermohydrosulfuricum  as template: 
     
       
         
               
             
           
               
                 (SEQ ID NO: 21) 
               
               
                 TGCGGTGAAAGTGATGGAGACTTTAGTGAAATGACATTTAGCAGTGAATT 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 GGAAGATGCAAGACAAATTTTAAAGTTTGTGAAAGAGCAACCTACGACTG 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 ACCCTGAGAGAATAGGACTACTTGGGACTCAGCATGGGAGGA 
               
             
          
         
       
     
     The 141-bp fragment with 81% identity to the nucleotide sequence of the hydrolase α/β superfamily from  Thermoanaerobacter tencongensis  was amplified with the primers F/CRI/GCG and R/CRII/AAG (SEQ ID NO: 14 and 19) using gDNA from  T. brockii  as template: 
     
       
         
               
             
           
               
                 (SEQ ID NO: 22) 
               
               
                 TGCGGTGAAAGTGATGGAGACTTTAGTGAAATGACATTTAGCAGTGAATT 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 GGAAGATGCAAGACAAATTTTAAAGTTTGTGAAAGAGCAACCTACGACTG 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 ACCCTGAGAGAATAGGACTACTTGGCTTCAGCATGGGAGGA 
               
             
          
         
       
     
     Example 6 
     Inverse PCR 
     Inverse PCR was conducted with DNA from  T. thermohydrosulfuricus  and  T. brockii  sp.  brockii.    
     Digestion of gDNA with Restrictions Enzymes 
     Inverse PCR technique which allows the amplification of DNA segments that are outside of known sequence boundaries was used to complete the lipase gene. The genomic DNA (˜1.4 μg) was digested into small fragments with restriction enzymes BamHI and HindIII 20 U each per reaction in 1×RE-buffer B. The digestion reaction was performed in 300 μl total volume for 24 h at 37° C. The restriction reaction was precipitated with 1/10 volume 3M NaOAc and 2.5 volume absolute ethanol for 2 h at −20° C., spin down for 30 min, at 13000 rpm, at 4° C. The pellet was air dried for 20 min at room temperature and than resuspend in 100 μl ddH 2 O. 
     Self Ligation of the DNA-Fragments 
     0.5 μl (200 U) T4Ligase (MBI, BioLabs), 30 μl T4 Ligase-buffer (MBI) and 10 mM ATP were added to the digested DNA. The ligation reaction was carried out at 4° C. for 48 h. The ligation reaction was precipitated with 1/10 volume 3M NaOAc and 2.5 volume absolute ethanol for 2 h at −20° C., spin down for 30 min, at 13000 rpm, at 4° C. The pellet was air dried for 20 min at room temperature and than resuspend in 100 μl ddH 2 O. 
     Inverse PCR with Constructed Primers 
     The circular DNA-fragments were used as templates for amplification of lipase fragments using primers (Table 2) in all possible combinations. PCR reactions were performed according to the following conditions using a Biometra® thermal cycler (model T 3000 Thermocycler): template circular DNA-fragments were added to a final concentration of ˜1.35 ng μl −1  in a buffer composed of 1×PCR-buffer, 3 mM MgCl 2 , 0.2 mM dNTPs, and 0.15 U μl −1  Taq-polymerase. Forward and reverse primers were added at a final concentration of 3 pmol μl −1 . Thirty thermocycles were performed as follows: Seq1 (94° C., 20 s), Seq2 (55° C., 45 s), Seq3 (72° C., 2 min). 
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 2 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Oligonucleotides used for inverse PCR 
               
               
                 I corrected the last columns of the table. 
               
             
          
           
               
                 SEQ 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 % 
               
               
                 ID 
                 Name 
                 Sequence 
                 Length 
                 Tm 
                 GC 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 23 
                 1F_Inv2CT 
                 GACATTTAGCAGTGAATTGGA 
                 27 
                 62° C. 
                 41% 
               
               
                   
                   
                 AGATGC 
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                   
               
               
                 24 
                 2F_Inv2CT 
                 TTTGTGAAAGAGCCTACGACT 
                 25 
                 63° C. 
                 48% 
               
               
                   
                   
                 GACC 
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                   
               
               
                 25 
                 3R_Inv2CT 
                 GCACTTTACCCTTAACATCAT 
                 26 
                 63° C. 
                 46% 
               
               
                   
                   
                 CAGGC 
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                   
               
               
                 26 
                 4R_Inv2CT 
                 GACTCTACTTTATTGCCTGTA 
                 27 
                 62° C. 
                 41% 
               
               
                   
                   
                 AAACCG 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     The program ContigExpress™ (Vector NTI®, software package for Mac OS users developed by InforMax, Inc., North Bethesda, Md.) was used for analysis of the sequences and to complete the lipase gene. 
     Example 7 
     Expression of Lipases from  C. thermohydrosulfuricum, T. brockii  and  T. tencongensis    
     AccepTor Vector Kit (Novagen) was used for IPTG-inducible expression of lipase genes under the control of the T7lac promoter in pETBlue-1 vector. The Kit is designed for simplified cloning of PCR products generated using Taq DNA polymerase, that leave single 3′-dA overhangs on their reaction products. The linearized pETBlue-1 vector contains single 3′-dU overhangs that are compatible with direct ligation of these products without the need for intermediate reactions. Following transformation, the dU residues are replaced with dT residues as the bacteria replicate the plasmid. 
     The NovaBlue host is used for initial cloning and verification of constructs in the pET-Blue-1 vector, and then the recombinant plasmids are transformed into the Tuner(DE3)pLacI strain for expression in  E. coli.    
     Preparation of the Insert 
     Lipase genes were amplified by PCR. Chromosomal DNA was used as a template for amplification of complete lipase gene using constructed primers (SEQ ID NO: 5-6 for the lipase gene from  C. thermohydrosulfuricum  and  T. brockii ; SEQ ID NO: 7-8 for the lipase gene from  T. tencongensis ) as described above in Example 1. PCR reactions were performed according to the following conditions: template DNA was added to a final concentration of ˜1.5 ng μl −1  in a buffer composed of 1×PCR-buffer, 3 mM MgCl 2 , 0.2 mM dNTPs. 0.2 U μl −1  Hifi-polymerase was added after hot-start. Forward and reverse primers were added at a final concentration of 3 pmol μl −1 . Twenty five thermocycles were performed as follows: Seq1 (94° C., 15 s), Seq2 (50° C., 30 s), Seq3 (68° C., 1 min 20 s). PCR-products were purified using NucleoSpin Extraction Kit (Macherey Nagel). 
     Ligation 
     50 ng μl −1  pETBlue-1 vector were ligated with ˜50 ng amplified product in a total volume of 10 μl. The reaction was incubated at 16° C. for 1 h. 
     Transformation of NovaBlue Singles™ Competent Cells 
     For transformation, 1 μl of the ligation reaction was added directly to NovaBlue Singles Competent Cells. The transformation was performed by “heat shock” method for exactly 30 sec in a 42° C. water bath. The positive clones were selected for the carbenicillin resistance marker by blue/white screening. 
     Transformation of Tuner™(DE3) pLacI Competent Cells with pETBlue-1 Recombinants 
     pETBlue-1 recombinants identified and isolated from the blue/white screening host NovaBlue were transformed into Tuner(DE3)pLacI expression host for IPTG-based induction. This strain carries a chromosomal copy of the T7 RNA polymerase gene and is designed for IPTG-inducible expression of target genes under the control of the T7lac promoter in pETBlue-1 vector. ˜1 ng μl −1  of the pETBlue-1 recombinant plasmid was added directly to the competent cells. The transformation was performed by “heat shock” method for 30 sec in a 42° C. water bath. 
     Growth and Induction 
     3 ml of starter culture of the pETBlue-1 recombinant in a (DE3)pLacI expression host strain were prepared. The growth LB medium contains carbenicillin, 50 μg ml −1 ; chloramphenicol, 34 μg ml −1  and 1% glucose. 100 ml medium inoculated with starter culture was incubated to an OD 600  of 1.0. Than 1 mM IPTG was added. The culture was incubated with shaking at 37° C. for 4 h for full induction. 
     Example 8 
     Expression of  T. thermohydrosulfuricus  Lipase in  Bacillus subtilis    
     A linear integration vector-system was used for the expression cloning of the gene. The linear integration construct was a PCR fusion product made by fusion of the gene between two  Bacillus subtilis  homologous chromosomal regions along with a strong promoter and a chloramphenicol resistance marker. The fusion was made by SOE PCR (Horton, R. M., Hunt, H. D., Ho, S. N., Pullen, J. K. and Pease, L. R. (1989) Engineering hybrid genes without the use of restriction enzymes, gene splicing by overlap extension Gene 77: 61-68). The SOE PCR method is also described in patent application WO 2003095658). The gene was expressed under the control of a triple promoter system (as described in WO 99/43835), consisting of the promoters from  Bacillus licheniformis  alpha-amylase gene (amyL),  Bacillus amyloliquefaciens  alpha-amylase gene (amyQ), and the  Bacillus thuringiensis  cryIIIA promoter including stabilizing sequence. The gene coding for Chloramphenicol acetyl-transferase was used as marker. (Described in eg. Diderichsen, B.; Poulsen, G. B.; Joergensen, S. T.; A useful cloning vector for  Bacillus subtilis . Plasmid 30:312 (1993)). The final gene construct was integrated on the  Bacillus  chromosome by homologous recombination into the pectate lyase locus. 
     Chromosomal DNA of  T. thermohydrosulfuricus  was isolated by QIAmp Tissue Kit (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany). First 3 fragments were PCR amplified: the gene fragment with specific primers oth296 (SEQ ID NO.: 27) and oth297 (SEQ ID NO.: 28) on genomic DNA from  T. thermohydrosulfuricus . The upstream flanking fragment was amplified with the primers 260558 (SEQ ID NO.: 29) and iMB1361Uni1 (SEQ ID NO.: 30) and the downstream flanking fragment was amplified with the primers 260559 (SEQ ID NO.: 31) and DwC 1361 (SEQ ID NO.: 32) from genomic DNA of the strain iMB1361 (described in patent application WO 2003095658. 
     The gene fragment was amplified using a proofreading polymerase (Proof Start Polymerase (Qiagen)). The two flanking DNA fragments was amplified with “Expand High Fidelity PCR System” (Boehringer Mannheim, Germany). The PCR reactions were made according to standard procedures (following the manufacturer&#39;s recommendations). The PCR conditions were as follows: 94° C. for 2 min followed by 10 cycles of (94° C. for 15 sec, 50° C. for 45 sec, 68° C. for 4 min) followed by 20 cycles of (94° C. for 15 sec, 50° C. for 45 sec, 68° C. for 4 min (+20 sec. extension pr cycle)) and ending with one cycle at 68° C. for 10 min. 
     The 3 resulting fragments were mixed in equal molar ratios and a new PCR reaction were run under the following conditions: initial 2 min. at 94° C., followed by 10 cycles of (94° C. for 15 sec., 50° C. for 45 sec., 68° C. for 5 min.), 10 cycles of (94° C. for 15 sec., 50° C. for 45 sec., 68° C. for 8 min.), 15 cycles of (94° C. for 15 sec., 50° C. for 45 sec., 68° C. for 8 min. in addition 20 sec. extra pr cycle). After the 1 st  cycle the two end primers 260558 (SEQ ID NO.: 29) and 260559 (SEQ ID NO.: 31) was added (20 pMol of each). Two μl of the PCR product was trans-formed into  Bacillus subtilis  and transformants was selected on LB-plates containing chloramphenicol (6 μg/ml medium). A clone containing the construct without mutations leading to amino acid changes was selected for fermentation in liquid media. 
     Fermentation, Purification and Activity Assay 
     The clone was streaked on an LB-agar plate with 6 micro g/ml chloramphenicol from −80° C. stock, and grown overnight at 37° C. The colonies were transferred to 100 ml LB or PS-1 media supplemented with 6 micro g/ml chloramphenicol in a 500 ml shaking flask. The culture was shaken at 30° C. at 275 rpm for 1 or 3 days. The cells were spun down and the enzyme purified from the supernatant by already described methods in example 3. The activity was measured as already described in example 9. 
     Example 9 
     Properties of Lipase 
     Effect of Temperature 
     Purified lipases of SEQ ID NO: 2 and 4 both showed optimum activity 75° C. (10 minutes reaction) with little activity above 85-90° C. 
     Effect of pH 
     Purified lipase of SEQ ID NO: 2 showed optimum activity at pH 8.0, &gt;80% activity at pH 6.5-9.0, and almost no activity below pH 6.0 and above pH 10.0. The lipase of SE ID NO: 4 showed optimum activity at pH 7.0, &gt;60% activity at pH 6.5-9.0, and almost no activity below pH 6.0 and above pH 11.0. 
     Effects of Metal Ions 
     The lipase activity was nearly unchanged in the presence of the following metal ions up to 10 mM: Na+, K+, Ca2+, Cu2+, Ag+ Mg2+, Mn2+, Sr2+, Rb+, Co2+, Ni2+ and Al3+. The activity was decreased by the following ions: Zn2+, Fe2+, Fe3+ and Cr3+. 
     Effect of Detergent Ingredients 
     The activity of the lipase was tested after incubation for 1.5 hours at 30° C. with up to 10% by weight of various compounds. The lipase maintained &gt;75% activity after incubation with CHAPS (3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-1-propanesulfonic acid), PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) and EDTA (ethylenediamine tetra-acetic acid). Incubation with Tween-20 and Tween-80 or Triton X-100 decreased the activity. SDS caused full enzyme inhibition. 
     Effect of Solvents 
     The following solvents at concentrations up to 50% by volume had little effect on the activity of the lipase of SEQ ID NO: 2: tert-butanol, ethanol, acetonitrile, isopropanol, pyridine, DMSO, acetone, dimethylformamide and methanol. 
     Effect of Inhibitors 
     The following compounds had little effect on the activity of the lipases of SEQ ID NO: 2 and 4 at concentrations up to 10 mM: b-mercaptoethanol, urea, pHMB, guanidine hydrochloride, DTT and iodo-acetate. Both lipases were inactivated by PMSF and Pefablock at 0.1-1 mM. 
     Example 10 
     Substrate Specificity of Lipase from  T. thermohydrosulfuricus    
     Substrate Specificity for pNP-Esters 
     The lipase of SEQ ID NO: 2 was tested by reaction with various pNP-esters 1 mM (pH 8.0) as substrates for 10 min at 70° C. Similar results were obtained with the lipase of SEQ ID NO: 4. 
     
       
         
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                   
                 pNP-esters 
                 Relative activity 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 pNP-acetate (C2:0) 
                 9 
               
               
                   
                 pNP-butyrate (C4:0) 
                 57 
               
               
                   
                 pNP-caproate (C6:0) 
                 81 
               
               
                   
                 pNP-caprylate (C8:0) 
                 90 
               
               
                   
                 pNP-caprate (C10:0) 
                 100 
               
               
                   
                 pNP-laurate (C12:0) 
                 84 
               
               
                   
                 pNP-myristate (C14:0) 
                 68 
               
               
                   
                 pNP-palmitate (C16:0) 
                 32 
               
               
                   
                 pNP-stearate (C18:0) 
                 8 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     It is seen that the lipase has high activity with substrates of chain length C6-C14. 
     Substrate Specificity with Triacylglycerols 
     The lipase of SEQ ID NO: 2 was tested by reaction with various triacylglycerols 10 mM (pH 8.0) as substrates: for 25 h at 70° C. Similar results were obtained with the lipase of SEQ ID NO: 4. 
     
       
         
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                   
                 Triacylglycerols 
                 Relative activity 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Triacetin (C2:0) 
                 5 
               
               
                   
                 Tributyrin (C4:0) 
                 10 
               
               
                   
                 Tricaproin (C6:0) 
                 74 
               
               
                   
                 Tricaprylin (C8:0) 
                 100 
               
               
                   
                 Tricaprin (C10:0) 
                 15 
               
               
                   
                 Trilaurin (C12:0) 
                 11 
               
               
                   
                 Trimyristin (C14:0) 
                 8 
               
               
                   
                 Tripalmitin (C16:0) 
                 22 
               
               
                   
                 Tristearin (C18:0) 
                 9 
               
               
                   
                 Triolein (C18:1) 
                 12 
               
               
                   
                 Olive oil 
                 10 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     It is seen that the lipase has good activity with C6 and C8, but low activity with other chain lengths. 
     Example 11 
     Alcoholysis 
     Alcoholysis of various triacylglycerols catalyzed by the lipase of SEQ ID NO: 2 were tested. All substrates were alcoholyzed by the lipase. The highest yield was observed with tristearin as substrate (conversion 67%). For other substrates the conversions were above 40%. The lipase catalysed the synthesis of 1,3-diacylglycerides and 1- and 3-monoacylglycerides from triacylglycerides at highest rate. No sn2-monoglyceride was produced. The enzyme exhibited unusual preference to 2-positional ester bonds. With the length of the ester bonds the 2-positional specificity of the protein increased. 
     Example 12 
     Enantioselectivity 
     The lipase of SEQ ID NO: 2 was found to be active towards the following four substrates: 1-phenyl-1-ethyl-acetate, 1-phenyl-2-propyl-acetate, butynol acetate and butynol butyrate, and relative S-anantioselective towards the two latter. With these two substrates the lipase showed (S)-preference and acceptable E-values (16.7 and 9.2 accordantly). The (S)-alcohols were formed. The lipase was more enantioselective towards butynol butyrate than towards butynol acetate. Over time the conversion increased for all four substrates and reached above 20-30% after 24 h of reactions time. Over time in the contrast to the conversion the enantioselectivity of the enzyme towards both substrates decreased for butynol butyrate from 16.7 to 8.06 and for butynol acetate from 9.15 to 2.65 after 40 h of reactions time. The lipase showed higher preference for (S)-enantiomers, but over time its ability to distinguish between enantiomers decreased. For two other substrates the enantioselectivity of the lipase (E≧1) was constant over time. 
     Example 13 
     Positional Specificity 
     Positional Specificity Towards Monoglycerides (MG) 
     The hydrolysis of the 1-positional ester bond with the lipase of SEQ ID NO: 2 was found to be lower (less than 2 fold) in comparison with 2-positional ester bond in monopalmitoyl glycerols molecule. The enzyme exhibited unusual preference to 2-positional ester bonds. 
     Positional Specificity Towards Triglycerides (TG) 
     The positional specificity of the lipase from  T. thermohydrosulfuricum  (SEQ ID NO: 2) was tested towards the following triglycerides (TG, triacylglycerols): trilaurin (C12), trimyristin (C14), tripalmitin (C16), tristearin (C18), Triolein (C18:1). Each TG (3 mmol) was dissolved in organic solvent (2 ml acetone) and pre-equilibrated at 65° C. for 15 min, 400 rpm. Dry ethanol (3 mmol) was added and reaction mixture was incubated at 65° C. for 15 min, 400 rpm. Lipase (10% based on TG weight) was added to start reaction. Reaction was carried out in a 4-ml screw-capped vial and the reaction mixture was mixed with magnetic stirrer (400 rpm). Aliquot amount of reaction mixture (20 μl) was periodically withdrawn and diluted with chloroform (80 μl) to appropriate dilution, followed by analysis with latroscan to determine acylglycerol composition. 
     Changes in glycerides composition of the reaction medium during reaction were quantitatively determined by TLC/FID using latroscan analytical methods (latroscan, latron Laboratories, Inc., Tokyo, Japan). Before analysis, a blank of the chromarod was scanned. After treating chromarod with boric acid (3%) and drying for 5 min, 0.1 μl of the reaction medium (diluted in chloroform at appropriate dilution) is spotted onto the chromarod and the spotted sample was developed for 10 cm in a mixture of benzene:chloroform:acetic acid (50:30:0.5, by vol) for 35 min. After drying, the chromarod in an oven at 110° C. for 5 min, scanning is performed at a hydrogen flow rate of 160 ml/min and an air flow rate of 2.01/min to produce a chromatogram. 
     The results of the alcoholysis of the triacylglycerols catalysed by the lipase from  C. thermohydrosulfuricum  after 7 h reactions time at 65° C. are given below as % of remaining substrate (TG) and % of the following products: fatty acid (FA), diglycerides (DG, with 1,3-DG separated from 1,2- and 2,3-DG), monoglyceride (MG, with 2-MG separated from 1- and 3-MG). 
     
       
         
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 DG 
                   
                 MG 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 DG 
                 1,2- 
                 MG 
                 1- 
               
               
                   
                 TG 
                 FA 
                 1,3- 
                 2,3- 
                 2- 
                 3- 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 Trilaurin (C 12) 
                 58 
                 2 
                 12 
                 6 
                 — 
                 22 
               
               
                 Trimyristin (C 14) 
                 66 
                 1 
                 12 
                 2 
                 — 
                 19 
               
               
                 Tripalmitin (C16) 
                 65 
                 3 
                 13 
                 1 
                 — 
                 18 
               
               
                 Tristearin (C 18) 
                 33 
                 10 
                 48 
                 — 
                 — 
                 9 
               
               
                 Triolein (C18:1) 
                 63 
                 2 
                 18 
                 — 
                 — 
                 17 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     The results show that all substrates were alcoholyzed by the lipase. The highest yield was observed with tristearin as substrate (conversion 67%). For other substrates the conversions were above 40%. The lipase catalysed the formation of the 1,3-diacylglycerides and 1- and 3-monoacylglycerides from triacylglycerides at highest rate. No sn2-monoglyceride was produced. The enzyme exhibited unusual preference to 2-positional ester bonds. With the length of the ester bonds the 2-positional specificity of the protein increased.