Abstract:
The present invention describes the cloning and expression of a hyperthermostable xylose isomerase gene in an industrial host and the heat facilitated purification of the enzyme. The hyperthermostable enzyme has unique features sought by the fructose syrup industry.

Description:
This is a division of application Ser. No. 08/302,131 filed Sep. 6, 1994, now abandoned. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to enzymes. More particularly it relates to enzymes known as xylose isomerases or glucose isomerases. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Xylose isomerase (EC 5.3.1.5) is an enzyme that catalyzes the reversible isomerization of D-xylose into D-xylose. It is also called glucose isomerase because of its ability to isomerase D-glucose into D-fructose, and it is therefore widely used in industry for the production of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). 
     The isomerization of glucose reaches an equilibrium which is shifted towards fructose at high temperatures. Presently, the industrial isomerization process is performed at temperatures of about 58° to 60° C., using moderately thermostable xylose isomerases, to produce 40-42% fructose syrup. An additional step of chromatography allows the production of 55% fructose rich HFCS, which has a higher sweetening power than sucrose. 
     Performing the isomerization at 90° or 95° C. would make possible the production of syrups containing 55% fructose, without the last chromatography step, but the half-life of the enzymes used today at those higher temperatures does not permit increasing the temperature of the isomerization reaction. Another advantage to performing the isomerization at high temperatures would be that it would decrease the risks of microbial contamination of the reactor. 
     Previous attempts have been made to obtain more thermostable xylose isomerases, either by site-directed mutagenesis of moderately thermostable xylose isomerases, or by screening highly thermophilic organisms for xylose isomerase activity. However, none of those attempts have resulted in commercially useful hyperthermostable xylose isomerases. 
     It obviously would be advantageous to have a hyperthermostable xylose isomerase and an efficient method of producing that enzyme in quantity. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to disclose a novel hyperthermostable xylose isomerase. 
     It is a further object to disclose a method of producing the enzyme employing DNA encoding for the enzyme, plasmids containing the DNA, and bacteria into which the plasmids have been inserted and which produce the enzyme. 
     It is a still further object to disclose a method of making fructose using the novel hyperthermostable xylose isomerase. 
     The present invention relates to a hyperthermostable xylose isomerase, which is obtained from the microorganism Thermotoga neapolitana (DSM No. 5068) and mutants thereof. The enzyme has the amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO:1 which is: 
     
         __________________________________________________________________________ 1 MAEFFPEIPK      VQFEGKESTN              PLAFKFYDPE                      EIIDGKPLKD                              HLKFSVAFWH 51   TFVNEGRDPF      GDPTADRPWN              RYTDPMDKAF                      ARVDALFEFC                              EKLNIEYFCF101   HDRDIAPEGK      TLRETNKILD              KVVERIKERM                      KDSNVKLLWG                              TANLFSHPRY151   MHGAATTCSA      DVFAYAAAQV              KKALEITKEL                      GGEGYVFWGG                              REGYETLLNT201   DLGFELENLA      RFLRMAVDYA              KRIGFTGQFL                      IEPKPKEPTK                              HQYDFDVATA251   YAFLKSHGLD      EYFKFNIEAN              HATLAGHTFQ                      HELRMARILG                              KLGSIDANQG301   DLLLGWDTDQ      FPTNVYDTTL              AMYEVIKAGG                      FTKGGLNFDA                              KVRRASYKVE351   DLFIGHIAGM      DTFALGFKVA              YKLVKDGVLD                      KFIEEKYRSF                              REGIGRDIVE401   GKVDFEKLEE      YIIDKETIEL              PSGKQEYLES                      LINSYIVKTI                              LELR.__________________________________________________________________________ 
    
     Thermotoga is a highly thermophilic organism, originating from geothermally heated sea floors, and deeply branched in eubacteria. A hyperthermostable xylose isomerase has been purified from the species T. maritima and has been shown to have an optimal activity at 105°-110° C. 
     The T. neapolitana which produces the enzyme of the present invention has an optimum growth temperature of about 77° C. and its growth rate is higher than 50% of the maximum at temperatures from 64° to 87° C. (1). Its optimum growth pH is 7.5, and its growth rate is higher than 50% of the maximum at pHs from 6.0 to 9.0. 
     The xylose isomerase that is produced by T. neapolitana is optimally active at 97° C. and it retains 40% of its activity after incubation at 90° C. for 2 hours in the absence of substrate. It retains 60% of its activity after incubation at 80° C. for 2 hours in the absence of substrate. It retains 55% of its activity after incubation at 70° C. for 4 hours in the absence of substrate and 90% of its activity after incubation at 50° C. for 4 hours in the absence of substrate. 
     The xylose isomerase retains 100% of its activity at pHs of from 6.8 to 7.3 for at least 30 minutes. It has an optimum pH for activity of 7.1, but also shows: 
     More than 70% activity between pHs 5.8 and 7.7 
     More than 80% activity between pHs 6.1 and 7.6 
     More than 90% activity between pHs 6.6 and 7.4 
     The xylose isomerase of the present invention has the following additional physiochemical properties: 
     (1) Reactivity: It isomerizes xylose to produce D-xylulose and D-glucose to produce D-fructose. 
     (2) Activity: It has a specific activity of greater than 21 U/mg of purified enzyme. 
     (3) The enzyme is composed of identical subunits of about 50,000 daltons, as measured by SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. 
     The preferred method of the present invention for producing the enzyme, comprises, isolating and purifying chromosomal DNA from T. neapolitana strain 5068, partially digesting the chromosomal DNA with a restriction enzyme, ligating the DNA into a plasmid vector, transforming the E. coli with the ligation mixture, growing the E. coli and isolating the enzyme from the E. coli. The enzyme can then be purified by heating it to about 90° C. for about 150 minutes. Most E. coli proteins are denatured during this treatment and the last E. coli proteins can be eliminated by chromatographic steps to obtain the purified xylose isomerase. 
     The novel isolated hyperthermostable xylose isomerase gene has the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:2. The nucleotide sequence SEQ ID NO:2 is: 
     
         __________________________________________________________________________  1   GTCGACGCAA      AGGTCGTGAC              GGGTGGAAAC                      ATAAACGTTC                              AGCTGGGAAC 51   TGTGTCCTCG      GCTGCTGTTG              AAGGAACATA                      CGTTATCGAA                              GTTGGACAAT 101   TCTCTGGAAC      GGTCACATCC              GAGCTTGATG                      TCAAGATCCG                              CCGTTGTCCT 151   CAGCACCCCT      TCCGTACACC              CTGTCATCCT                      TCACAACGGG                              GATGAAGGGA 201   TCCGTTTCCC      ACAGCGAAAG              ATCCCCTGGT                      GGAACGGTGT                              CTATGTGTGT 251   CACTATCCAC      AATGTTTTGC              TTCTGTCCCT                      GCCGGGAATG                              ATTGCAAGCA 301   GATTCGACCT      CCAAATTCCG              TTCTGGTCTT                      TTGTGTCATG                              ACGCTCAACA 351   GTGTATCCCA      TCTTTTTGAG              AAGTTCCTCC                      AGCCAGTCGG                              CCTTCTCTTT 401   CTCTCCAGGT      CCACCGAAGA              CTGGATTCAC                      CGAATTGATC                              GATATGAACC 451   TTTTCAGCGA      ATCTACCATT              TCGTCTTTCA                      ATTCTTCTAT                              CTTTCTTGTT 501   ATCTCCATCT      GAAACACCTC              CCAAGTACAA                      GTATATCTCT                              CCAAAAAAAT 551   ATTTGAAATG      ACCCCAGGGA              ATTTTATATA                      ATTGATTGAT                              AGAAAAAATT 601   TAGGGAGGTG      TTCACATGGC              TGAATTCTTT                      CCAGAAATCC                              CGAAAGTGCA 651   GTTCGAAGGC      AAAGAAAGCA              CAAATCCACT                      TGCGTTCAAG                              TTCTACGATC 701   CAGAAGAGAT      CATCGACGGC              AAACCCCTCA                      AGGACCATCT                              GAAGTTCTCC 751   GTTGCCTTCT      GGCACACCTT              CGTGAACGAG                      GGAAGGGATC                              CCTTCGGAGA 801   CCCAACGGCC      GATCGTCCCT              GGAACAGGTA                      CACCGATCCC                              ATGGACAAGG 851   CTTTTGCAAG      GGTGGACGCC              CTTTTTGAAT                      TCTGCGAAAA                              ACTCAACATC 901   GAGTACTTCT      GCTTCCACGA              CAGAGACATC                      GCTCCCGAGG                              GAAAAACGCT 951   GAGGGAGACA      AACAAAATTT              TGGACAAAGT                      AGTGGAGAGA                              ATCAAAGAGA1001   GAATGAAAGA      CAGCAACGTG              AAGCTCCTCT                      GGGGTACTGC                              AAACCTCTTT1051   TCCCACCCAA      GGTACATGCA              TGGTGCAGCG                      ACAACCTGCA                              GTGCTGATGT1101   TTTTGCGTAC      GCGGCCGCCC              AGGTGAAAAA                      AGCCCTTGAG                              ATCACCAAAG1151   AACTTGGAGG      AGAAGGGTAC              GTCTTCTGGG                      GTGGAAGAGA                              AGGATACGAA1201   ACACTCCTCA      ACACGGACCT              TGGATTCGAA                      CTTGAAAACC                              TCGCCCGCTT1251   CCTCAGAATG      GCTGTGGATT              ATGCAAAAAG                      GATCGGTTTC                              ACCGGACAGT1301   TCCTCATCGA      ACCAAAACCG              AAAGAACCCA                      CCAAACACCA                              GTACGACTTC1351   GACGTTGCAA      CCGCCTATGC              CTTCCTGAAG                      AGCCACGGTC                              TCGATGAATA1401   CTTCAAATTC      AACATCGAGG              CAAACCACGC                      CACACTCGCC                              GGTCACACCT1451   TCCAGCACGA      ACTGAGAATG              GCAAGGATCC                      TTGGAAAACT                              CGGAAGCATC1501   GATGCAAACC      AGGGAGACCT              TCTTCTTGGA                      TGGGACACCG                              ATCAGTTCCC1551   AACAAACGTC      TACGATACAA              CCCTTGCAAT                      GTACGAAGTG                              ATAAAAGCGG1601   GAGGCTTCAC      AAAAGGTGGG              CTCAACTTCG                      ATGCGAAGGT                              GAGGAGGGCT1651   TCTTACAAAG      TGGAGGACCT              CTTCATAGGG                      CACATAGCGG                              GAATGGACAC1701   CTTTGCACTC      GGTTTCAAGG              TGGCATACAA                      ACTCGTGAAG                              GATGGTGTTC1751   TGGACAAATT      CATCGAAGAA              AAGTACAGAA                      GTTTCAGGGA                              GGGCATTGGA1801   AGGGACATCG      TCGAAGGTAA              AGTGGATTTT                      GAAAAACTTG                              AAGAGTATAT1851   AATAGACAAA      GAAACGATAG              AACTTCCATC                      TGGAAAGCAA                              GAATACCTGG1901   AAAGCCTCAT      CAACAGTTAC              ATAGTGAAGA                      CCATTCTGGA                              ACTGAGGTGA1951   AACAGAGTGT      GAAGTTCTTG              AATCTTCGAA                      GATTACTTCT                              TCTGGCACTG2001   ATTGCGGCTG      GAATCTCAGT              GATCATAGTC                      GTATCCAACC                              GGGAAAACAG2051   GGTGAAATTT      CCAGAAGGAG              AGATTGTGAT                      AACTGACGGA                              GAAAGATCTC2101   TGAAACTTCG      TGTCGAGATA              GCGAACACTC                      CTTTTTTTCG                              TTCGATCGGT2151   CTGATGTACA      GAAAGAGCAT              CCCGGATGAC                      TTCGGGATGC                              TCTTTGTTTT2201   TGAAGAAGAT      ACAAGAAGCG              GCTTCTGGAT                      GAAGAACACC                              TACGTTCCCC2251   TCGAAATCGC      CTTCATAGAC              AGAAACGGCA                      TCGTATTTTC                              CATTCAGGAG2301   ATGGAGCCAT      GCGAAAAAGA              ACCCTGCAAG                      GTTTACTACG                              CACCAAAGCC2351   GTTCAGATAC      GCTCTTGAAG              TGAAAAGAGG                      TTTTTTCGAA                              AGGCATGGAT2401   TTGGAGTGGG      AAGCCGTGTC              CTGATAGAAA                      AGTAGCGGTA                              CTTTCAAACA2451   AAAACGTATG      GAATCTTCAT              CTTCTTTGCC                      TCGTACATTC                              TCGAGTCAGC2501   CATCTTCAGA      AGTTCTTCTA              GA.__________________________________________________________________________ 
    
     The novel recombinant plasmid comprises a compatible vector containing the DNA sequence of SEQ ID NO:2. A compatible vector is one into which the gene can be inserted and which can be introduced into a suitable host for production of the enzyme. 
     The preferred method of preparing D-fructose comprises enzymatically treating D-glucose with the hyperthermostable xylose isomerase of the present invention at a temperature of about 80° C. to about 100° C. at a pH of about 5.8 to 7.7 to obtain a syrup containing up to about 55% D-fructose. 
     The achievement of the above and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the description of the drawings, the preferred embodiment and the experimental work. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1: Physical and genetic maps of pTNE1 and construction of the plasmids used in this study. Restriction sites: B, BamHI; H, HindIII; P, PstI; R, EcoRI; S, SalI; X, XbaI. Plasmid vectors are not shown. ΔSal originated from pTNE1 by the deletion of a SalI fragment, using the unique SalI site from pUC18. pTNE2 and 3 contain a 2.5 kb SalI-XbaI fragment from pTNE1 cloned in pBluescriptKS+ and KS-- respectively. R3 and R9 contain the 2 kb EcoRI fragment from pTNE1 cloned in pBluescript in opposite orientations. The hatched box represents the smallest fragment of pTNE1 hybridizing with the probe used for the library screening. The location and transcriptional direction of the xylA gene are indicated by the arrow. 
     FIG. 2: Nucleotide sequence and deduced amino acid sequence of the T. neapolitana 5068 xylose isomerase gene. The putative -35 and -10 sequences in the promoter region and the putative ribosome binding site (RBS) are underlined. A terminator-like, inverted repeat sequence is indicated by horizontal arrows. The restriction sites used in this study are shown above the nucleotide sequence. 
     FIG. 3: Effect of temperature on the glucose isomerase specific activity of T. neapolitana xylose isomerase. Values are the mean of 2 or 3 independent assays. 
     FIG. 4(a) and (b): Time course of irreversible thermoinactivation of T. neapolitana xylose isomerase. Values are the mean of 3 independent assays. 
     FIG. 5: Effect of pH on the specific activity and stability of T. neapolitana xylose isomerase. Closed symbols are relative activities measured at 90° C. Open symbols are residual relative activities, as measured at pH 7.0, after incubation for 30 min at 90° C. Values are the mean of 3 independent assays. Standard deviations (σ n-1 ) are shown, deviations increase at high temperatures, where non-enzymic isomerization becomes significant. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The hyperthermostable enzyme from Thermotoga neapolitana strain 5068 (DSM No. 5068.) is more stable at high temperatures (90° C.) than the enzymes from conventional or moderate thermophilic organisms. During the production of high-fructose corn syrup, the use of a highly thermostable xylose isomerase in the glucose isomerization process allows the reaction to proceed at higher temperatures, so that syrups with a higher fructose content can be obtained due to chemical equilibrium. 
     The preferred method of producing the enzyme broadly comprises expressing an active and thermostable enzyme in a mesophilic organism which allows the addition of a heat treatment step, which improves dramatically the purification procedure. 
     In an especially preferred practice of the method of the invention chromosomal DNA from T. neapolitana strain 5068 is purified by the method of Goldberg and Ohman (2). The chromosomal DNA is partially digested with the restriction enzyme Sau3AI. The 3-7 kb fragments are isolated from a sucrose gradient (10-40%), and ligated into plasmid vector pUC18, which is cut by BamHI and dephosphorylated with calf intestine alkaline phosphatase to form a hybrid plasmid. E. Coli SURE strain is transformed with the ligation mixture, and recombinants which contain the xylose isomerase gene are selected by colony hybridization using a PCR-generated homologous probe (3). Lastly, positive clones are tested for xylose isomerase activity at 90° C. 
     A further understanding of the invention can be obtained from the following description of the experimental work we performed. 
     EXPERIMENTAL 
     MATERIALS AND METHODS 
     Bacterial strains and plasmids. 
     Thermotoga neapolitana strain 5068 was used as a source of chromosomal DNA to construct the library. Escherichia coli Sure strain (e14 -  (mcrA), Δ(mcrCB-hsdSMR-mrr)171, sbcC, recB, recJ, umuC::Tn5 (kan r ), uvrC, supE44, lac, gyrA96, relA1, thi-1, endA1, [F&#39; proAB, lacI q  ZΔM15, Tn10, (tet r )]) (Stratagene, La Jolla, Calif.) was used for the cloning experiments, and E. coli xyl -   mutant HB101 (F - , hsdS20, ara-1, recA13, proA12, lacY1, galK2, rpsL20, mtl-1, xyl-5) (4) was used for the purification of the recombinant xylose isomerase. Plasmids pUc18 (Pharmacia, Piscataway, N.J.) and pBluescriptIIKS+ (pBSIIKS+) and (Stratagene, La Jolla, Calif.) were used as cloning vectors. Plasmids constructed in this study are shown in FIG. 1. 
     Media and growth conditions. 
     T. neapolitana cultures were grown in modified ASW (5) at 80° C. E. coli cultures were grown in Luria broth (10 g tryptone, 5 g yeast extract, 5 g NaCl per liter), except for the purification of the recombinant xylose isomerase, where Terrific Broth (TB) was used (6). The antibiotics ampicillin and kanamycin (kan) were used at 100 μg/ml and 25 μg/ml respectively. 
     DNA preparation and genomic library construction. 
     Chromosomal DNA from T. neapolitana strain 5068 was purified by the method of Goldberg and Ohman (2). The chromosomal DNA was partially digested with the restriction enzyme Sau3AI. The 3-7 kb fragments were isolated from a sucrose gradient (10-40%), and ligated into plasmid vector pUC18, which was cut by BamHI and dephosphorylated with calf intestine alkaline phosphatase. E. Coli (SURE strain) was transformed with the ligation mixture by electroporation (3). 
     Manipulation of DNA. 
     Plasmid DNA purification, restriction analysis, PCR reaction, and colony and DNA hybridization were performed by conventional techniques (6) (3). The following oligonucleotides (obtained from the Michigan State University Macromolecular Facility) were used for PCR reactions: 5&#39;-CCA AGC TTN ACN CAY CCN GTN TTY AAR GA3&#39; (A, encodes the peptide FTHPVFKD), where the AAGCTT sequence creates a HINDIII site; 5&#39;-GAR CCN AAR CCN AAY GAR CCG CGG-3&#39; (B, encodes the peptide EPKPNEP), where the CCGCGG sequence creates a SacII site; 5&#39;-GGT CTA GAR AAY TAY GTN TTY TGG GGN GG-3&#39; (C, encodes the peptide ENYVFWGG), where the TCTAGA sequence creates an XbaI site. DNA was recovered from agarose gels with the Geneclean II kit (BIO 101, La Jolla, Calif.). Plasmid pTNE2 was stabilized by cloning the kan r  cartridge from pUC-4K (Pharmacia, Piscataway, N.J.) into the pTNE2 unique SalI site, giving rise to plasmid pTNE2::kan. 
     Nucleotide sequence determination. 
     Sequential deletions of pTNE2 were created by the exonuclease III digestion procedure of Henikoff (7). Sequences were determined, on both strands, by the dideoxy chain termination technique (8), using the Sequenase Version 2.0 kit (U.S. Biochemical Corp., Cleveland, Ohio). The sequencing data were analyzed using the Sequence Analysis Software Package of the Genetics Computer Group, version 5 (University of Wisconsin) (9). Hydrophobic cluster analysis (HCA) of the amino acid sequences was performed as described by Gaboriaud et al. (10) and Lemesle-Varloot et al. (11) with the HCA plot program, version 2, from Doriane (Le Chesnay, France). 
     Enzyme purification. 
     For comparison purposes Thermoanaerobacterium thermosulfurigenes 4B recombinant xylose isomerase was purified from E. coli HB101 carrying plasmid pCMG11-3, as described by Lee et al. (12), except that: i) 50 mM MOPS (4-morpholinepropanesulfonic acid) (pH7.0) containing 5 mM MgSO 4  plus 0.5 mM CoCl 2  was used as buffer; ii) a (NH 4 ) 2  SO 4  fractionation step was added after the heat treatment (13); iii) ion exchange chromatography was performed on Q-Sepharose Fast Flow, and proteins were eluted with a linear NaCl gradient (0.0-0.3M). 
     T. neapolitana recombinant xylose isomerase was purified from E. coli HB101 carrying plasmid pTNE2::kan as described above, except that: i) the cells were grown in TB supplemented with kan; ii) the cell extract was heat treated at 90° C. for 2 h 30 min in an oil shaking bath. 
     Protein concentration was determined routinely by the method of Bradford (14), using the Bio-Rad protein reagent. Bovine serum albumin was used as the standard. Protein concentration of pure enzyme preparations was estimated at 280 nm, on denaturated enzyme. The extinction coefficient (e=52950) was calculated from the sequence, using the Sequence Analysis Software Package of the Genetic Computer Group program. Enzyme fractions were analyzed by SDS-12% polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and visualized by Coomassie blue staining. 
     Enzyme assays. 
     Cell extracts prepared by sonication and purified preparations were used as enzyme sources. To determine the effect of temperature on glucose isomerase specific activity, glucose isomerase activity was measured by incubating the enzyme (0.02-0.1 mg/ml) in 100 mM MOPS (pH 7.0 at room temperature), 1 mM CoCl 2  and 0.8M glucose for 20 min. According to ΔpKa/Δt of MOPS buffer which is -0.011 (US Biochemical, Cleveland, Ohio, catalog 1993, p. 290), the pH was 6.3 at 90° C. The reaction was stopped by cooling the tubes in ice. The fructose was assayed by the cysteine-carbazole/sulfuric acid method (15). One unit of isomerase activity is defined as the amount of enzyme that produced 1 μmole of product/min under the assay conditions. 
     Thermostability studies. 
     The enzyme was incubated at different temperatures in the presence of 100 mM MOPS (pH 7.0), 1 mM CoCl 2  at room temperature for different periods of time. Thermoinactivation was stopped by cooling the tubes in a water bath equilibrated at room temperature. The residual glucose isomerase activity was measured in the conditions described above. 
     pH studies. 
     The effect of pH on glucose isomerase activity was measured using the standard protocol described above for enzyme assays, except that the MOPS buffer was substituted by acetate 100 mM (pH 4.0-5.7), PIPES (piperazine-N, N&#39;-bis-[2-ethanesulfonic acid]) 100 mM (pH 6.0-7.5), or EPPS (N-[2-hydroxyethyl]piperazine-N&#39;-[3-propanesulfonic acid]) 100 mM (pH 7.5-8.7). All pHs were adjusted at room temperature, and the ΔpKa/Δt for acetate, PIPES, and EPPS (0.000, -0.0085, and -0.011 respectively) (16, USB catalog 1993, p. 290) were taken into account for the results (FIG. 6). The effect of pH on enzyme stability was measured by incubating the enzyme (0.5-1.0 mg/ml) at 90° C. for 30 min in acetate 100 mM (pH 4.0-5.7), PIPES 100 mM (pH 6.0-7.5), or EPPS 100 mM (pH 7.5-8.7), in the presence of 0.5 mM CoCl 2 . The inactivation was stopped by cooling the tubes in a water bath equilibrated at room temperature. The residual glucose isomerase activity was measured at pH 7.0, using the standard protocol. The enzyme was diluted ten-fold in the reaction mixture. 
     Cloning of the xylose isomerase gene. 
     The first attempts to clone T. neapolitana by complementation of a xyl -  strain of E. coli were unsuccessful. This result was expected, since no xylose isomerase activity could be detected with the xylose isomerase purified from T. maritima, at temperatures compatible with E. coli growth (5). On the other hand, no hybridization signal could be detected in T. neapolitana genomic DNA with the Thermoanaerobacterium thermohydrosulfuricum 4B xylA gene as a probe. 
     We therefore tried to amplify a DNA fragment, internal to the T. neapolitana xylA gene, and use it as a probe to screen a plasmid library. To design primers for PCR, the amino acid sequences of the xylose isomerases from Actinoplanes missouriensis (17), Ampullariella (18), Streptomyces rubuginosus (19), S. violaceoniger (20), Bacillus subtilis (21), Lactobacillus brevis (22), L. pentosus (23), Thermoanaerobacterium thermosulfurigenes 4B, Staphylococcus xylosus (24), and E. coli (25) have been aligned (not shown) to identify highly conserved regions. Two main families of highly conserved enzymes were identified, the first included the Streptomyces, Ampullariella and A. missouriensis and the second included Bacillus, the Lactobacilli, and T. thermosulfurigenes. Even if they were more related to family II xylose isomerases, E. coli and S. xylosus enzymes still stood apart, and were not taken into account in the following. Only the sequence EPKPN/KEP (positions 232 to 238 in T. thermosulfurigenes enzyme) was conserved among the proteins of the 2 families. The sequence ENYVFWG (positions 183 to 189 in T. thermosulfurigenes enzyme) was conserved only in family II, whereas the sequence FTHPVFKD (positions 94 to 100 in A. missouriensis enzyme) was conserved only in family I. Since we did not know to which family the T. neapolitana enzyme would belong, we designed two sets of primers to correspond to the 2 families. With primers A plus B we expected a 294 bp PCR product, and with primers C plus B we expected a 180 bp PCR product. 
     With T. neapolitana genomic DNA as the template, only the PCR reaction using primers C plus B gave rise to a single band of the expected size in a reproducible way. This PCR product has been cloned into the XbaI-SacII sites of pBSIIKS+ and sequenced. It encodes a 54 residues polypeptide, 80% identical to the part of T. thermosulfurigenes xylose isomerase chosen for the amplification. This PCR fragment was used as a probe to screen a T. neapolitana genomic library. Among 15,000 clones that were screened by colony hybridization, only 6 hybridized strongly with the probe, and were completely isolated. Restriction analysis of these clones revealed that they all overlapped. All of them showed xylose isomerase activity. 
     One of them, clone pTNE1 (FIG. 1), was chosen for further studies. Additional hybridizations with restriction digests of pTNE1 showed that a 750 bp EcoRI-BamHI fragment carried the homology with the PCR probe. Several sub-clones were constructed, and tested for xylose isomerase activity (FIG. 1). Compared to pTNE1, the same level of activity was detected with both pTNE2 and 3. Since the insert was in opposite orientation in pTNE2 and pTNE3, when referring to the lacZ promoter, the xylose isomerase gene carried by the insert is probably expressed from its own promoter. No activity could be detected with R3 and R9. 
     Nucleotide sequence of the xylose isomerase gene. 
     The 2.4 kb SalI-XbaI insert of pTNE2 has been sequenced. One open reading frame (ORF) of 1332 nt, encodes a 444 AA polypeptide (calculated molecular weight: 50,892), 70% identical to the 4B xylose isomerase. This ORF is preceded by a Shine-Dalgarno sequence, GGAGGT, which exactly matches the T. maritima 16S rRNA sequence 3&#39;-CCUCCA-5&#39; (26). A potential promoter, TTGAA (-35) TATAAT (-10), corresponding to the consensus defined for T. maritima (27) is present 63 bp upstream of the ATG start codon. An inverted repeat located 213 pb downstream of xylA might be involved in termination of transcription. No homology was found upstream and downstream of xylA with E. coli xylB. The genetic organization of the xylose metabolism genes therefore seems different from what has been described in other microorganisms, where xylA and xylB are usually co-transcribed. The overall G+C content of xylA is 47% (Thermotogales have a genomic G+C content of 40 to 46%). The G+C content in codon position 3 is 59% (it is 60% for T.maritima ompα); this content is 15% higher than what is expected in an organism with 46% genomic G+C. 
     Comparison of the protein sequences. 
     The T. neapolitana xylose isomerase clearly belongs to the xylose isomerase family of type II, including the enzymes from E. coli, B. subtilis, C. thermohydrosulfuricum, and T. thermosulfurigenes strain 4B. Enzymes of type I are shorter by 40 to 50 residues at the N-terminal. The catalytic triad (His101, Asp104, Asp339), as well as almost all the other residues involved either in substrate or metal binding are conserved among the two protein families. 
     Biochemical characterization of T. neapolitana xylose isomerase. 
     Since plasmid pTNE2 was unstable in E. coli HB101, reliable amounts of T. neapolitana xylose isomerase were purified from HB 101(pTNE2::kan) cultures, grown in the presence of kanamycin. Heat treatment of the cell extracts for 2 h 30 min at 90° C. was a highly efficient step. The main contaminating protein was further removed by ammonium sulfate fractionation, and a last step of ion exchange chromatography allowed to purify the protein to homogeneity (not shown). The purified xylose isomerase is a tetramer composed of identical subunits of 50,000 Da. 
     The cloned xylose isomerase is optimally active at temperatures as high as 94°-100° C. 
     By the exercise of the method of the present invention a highly thermostable and thermophilic xylose isomerase has been cloned from the hyperthermophile T. neapolitana 5068. This enzyme clearly belongs to the xylose isomerase family II. Although 70% identical to the Thermoanaerobacterium thermosulfurigenes 4B enzyme and, according to the HCA comparison, showing highly conserved secondary structures, the Thermotoga xylose isomerase is unexpectedly optimally active at temperatures 15° C. higher than the 4B enzyme (95° C. versus 80° C.). 
     Representative of the plasmids and viral vectors which can be used in the method of the present invention are the following: pUC plasmids and derivatives like pTZ18-19, pBluescript, with high plasmid copy number per cell (200-300); pBR322 and derivatives, with lower copy number (20-50); plasmids with low copy number (5-10) like pMMB67EH (Furste et al., 1986) (28); and plasmids able to replicate in B. subtilis or other food-safe strains. 
     In general any plasmid can be used in which the gene can be inserted; which is stable when transformed into a bacteria and which will cause the bacteria to express the enzyme in a recoverable form. 
     Representative of the bacteria which can be employed in addition to the HB101 strain of E. coli are the following: other E. coli strains (no background glucose isomerase activity originating from E. coli can be detected after the heat treatment included in our protocol); B. subtilis strains, and other food-safe bacterial strains. 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that a number of changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, it is intended that the invention only be limited by the claims. 
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         __________________________________________________________________________SEQUENCE LISTING(1) GENERAL INFORMATION:(iii) NUMBER OF SEQUENCES: 2(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:1:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 2522 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: double(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:1:GTCGACGCAAAGGTCGTGACGGGTGGAAACATAAACGTTCAGCTGGGAACTGTGTCCTCG60GCTGCTGTTGAAGGAACATACGTTATCGAAGTTGGACAATTCTCTGGAACGGTCACATCC120GAGCTTGATGTCAAGATCCGCCGTTGTCCTCAGCACCCCTTCCGTACACCCTGTCATCCT180TCACAACGGGGATGAAGGGATCCGTTTCCCACAGCGAAAGATCCCCTGGTGGAACGGTGT240CTATGTGTGTCACTATCCACAATGTTTTGCTTCTGTCCCTGCCGGGAATGATTGCAAGCA300GATTCGACCTCCAAATTCCGTTCTGGTCTTTTGTGTCATGACGCTCAACAGTGTATCCCA360TCTTTTTGAGAAGTTCCTCCAGCCAGTCGGCCTTCTCTTTCTCTCCAGGTCCACCGAAGA420CTGGATTCACCGAATTGATCGATATGAACCTTTTCAGCGAATCTACCATTTCGTCTTTCA480ATTCTTCTATCTTTCTTGTTATCTCCATCTGAAACACCTCCCAAGTACAAGTATATCTCT540CCAAAAAAATATTTGAAATGACCCCAGGGAATTTTATATAATTGATTGATAGAAAAAATT600TAGGGAGGTGTTCACATGGCTGAATTCTTTCCAGAAATCCCGAAAGTGCAGTTCGAAGGC660AAAGAAAGCACAAATCCACTTGCGTTCAAGTTCTACGATCCAGAAGAGATCATCGACGGC720AAACCCCTCAAGGACCATCTGAAGTTCTCCGTTGCCTTCTGGCACACCTTCGTGAACGAG780GGAAGGGATCCCTTCGGAGACCCAACGGCCGATCGTCCCTGGAACAGGTACACCGATCCC840ATGGACAAGGCTTTTGCAAGGGTGGACGCCCTTTTTGAATTCTGCGAAAAACTCAACATC900GAGTACTTCTGCTTCCACGACAGAGACATCGCTCCCGAGGGAAAAACGCTGAGGGAGACA960AACAAAATTTTGGACAAAGTAGTGGAGAGAATCAAAGAGAGAATGAAAGACAGCAACGTG1020AAGCTCCTCTGGGGTACTGCAAACCTCTTTTCCCACCCAAGGTACATGCATGGTGCAGCG1080ACAACCTGCAGTGCTGATGTTTTTGCGTACGCGGCCGCCCAGGTGAAAAAAGCCCTTGAG1140ATCACCAAAGAACTTGGAGGAGAAGGGTACGTCTTCTGGGGTGGAAGAGAAGGATACGAA1200ACACTCCTCAACACGGACCTTGGATTCGAACTTGAAAACCTCGCCCGCTTCCTCAGAATG1260GCTGTGGATTATGCAAAAAGGATCGGTTTCACCGGACAGTTCCTCATCGAACCAAAACCG1320AAAGAACCCACCAAACACCAGTACGACTTCGACGTTGCAACCGCCTATGCCTTCCTGAAG1380AGCCACGGTCTCGATGAATACTTCAAATTCAACATCGAGGCAAACCACGCCACACTCGCC1440GGTCACACCTTCCAGCACGAACTGAGAATGGCAAGGATCCTTGGAAAACTCGGAAGCATC1500GATGCAAACCAGGGAGACCTTCTTCTTGGATGGGACACCGATCAGTTCCCAACAAACGTC1560TACGATACAACCCTTGCAATGTACGAAGTGATAAAAGCGGGAGGCTTCACAAAAGGTGGG1620CTCAACTTCGATGCGAAGGTGAGGAGGGCTTCTTACAAAGTGGAGGACCTCTTCATAGGG1680CACATAGCGGGAATGGACACCTTTGCACTCGGTTTCAAGGTGGCATACAAACTCGTGAAG1740GATGGTGTTCTGGACAAATTCATCGAAGAAAAGTACAGAAGTTTCAGGGAGGGCATTGGA1800AGGGACATCGTCGAAGGTAAAGTGGATTTTGAAAAACTTGAAGAGTATATAATAGACAAA1860GAAACGATAGAACTTCCATCTGGAAAGCAAGAATACCTGGAAAGCCTCATCAACAGTTAC1920ATAGTGAAGACCATTCTGGAACTGAGGTGAAACAGAGTGTGAAGTTCTTGAATCTTCGAA1980GATTACTTCTTCTGGCACTGATTGCGGCTGGAATCTCAGTGATCATAGTCGTATCCAACC2040GGGAAAACAGGGTGAAATTTCCAGAAGGAGAGATTGTGATAACTGACGGAGAAAGATCTC2100TGAAACTTCGTGTCGAGATAGCGAACACTCCTTTTTTTCGTTCGATCGGTCTGATGTACA2160GAAAGAGCATCCCGGATGACTTCGGGATGCTCTTTGTTTTTGAAGAAGATACAAGAAGCG2220GCTTCTGGATGAAGAACACCTACGTTCCCCTCGAAATCGCCTTCATAGACAGAAACGGCA2280TCGTATTTTCCATTCAGGAGATGGAGCCATGCGAAAAAGAACCCTGCAAGGTTTACTACG2340CACCAAAGCCGTTCAGATACGCTCTTGAAGTGAAAAGAGGTTTTTTCGAAAGGCATGGAT2400TTGGAGTGGGAAGCCGTGTCCTGATAGAAAAGTAGCGGTACTTTCAAACAAAAACGTATG2460GAATCTTCATCTTCTTTGCCTCGTACATTCTCGAGTCAGCCATCTTCAGAAGTTCTTCTA2520GA2522(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:2:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 444 amino acids(B) TYPE: amino acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:2:MetAlaGluPhePheProGluIleProLysValGlnPheGluGlyLys151015GluSerThrAsnProLeuAlaPheLysPheTyrAspProGluGluIle202530IleAspGlyLysProLeuLysAspHisLeuLysPheSerValAlaPhe354045TrpHisThrPheValAsnGluGlyArgAspProPheGlyAspProThr505560AlaAspArgProTrpAsnArgTyrThrAspProMetAspLysAlaPhe65707580AlaArgValAspAlaLeuPheGluPheCysGluLysLeuAsnIleGlu859095TyrPheCysPheHisAspArgAspIleAlaProGluGlyLysThrLeu100105110ArgGluThrAsnLysIleLeuAspLysValValGluArgIleLysGlu115120125ArgMetLysAspSerAsnValLysLeuLeuTrpGlyThrAlaAsnLeu130135140PheSerHisProArgTyrMetHisGlyAlaAlaThrThrCysSerAla145150155160AspValPheAlaTyrAlaAlaAlaGlnValLysLysAlaLeuGluIle165170175ThrLysGluLeuGlyGlyGluGlyTyrValPheTrpGlyGlyArgGlu180185190GlyTyrGluThrLeuLeuAsnThrAspLeuGlyPheGluLeuGluAsn195200205LeuAlaArgPheLeuArgMetAlaValAspTyrAlaLysArgIleGly210215220PheThrGlyGlnPheLeuIleGluProLysProLysGluProThrLys225230235240HisGlnTyrAspPheAspValAlaThrAlaTyrAlaPheLeuLysSer245250255HisGlyLeuAspGluTyrPheLysPheAsnIleGluAlaAsnHisAla260265270ThrLeuAlaGlyHisThrPheGlnHisGluLeuArgMetAlaArgIle275280285LeuGlyLysLeuGlySerIleAspAlaAsnGlnGlyAspLeuLeuLeu290295300GlyTrpAspThrAspGlnPheProThrAsnValTyrAspThrThrLeu305310315320AlaMetTyrGluValIleLysAlaGlyGlyPheThrLysGlyGlyLeu325330335AsnPheAspAlaLysValArgArgAlaSerTyrLysValGluAspLeu340345350PheIleGlyHisIleAlaGlyMetAspThrPheAlaLeuGlyPheLys355360365ValAlaTyrLysLeuValLysAspGlyValLeuAspLysPheIleGlu370375380GluLysTyrArgSerPheArgGluGlyIleGlyArgAspIleValGlu385390395400GlyLysValAspPheGluLysLeuGluGluTyrIleIleAspLysGlu405410415ThrIleGluLeuProSerGlyLysGlnGluTyrLeuGluSerLeuIle420425430AsnSerTyrIleValLysThrIleLeuGluLeuArg435440__________________________________________________________________________