Highly Efficient Synthesis of Fructooligosaccharides by Extracellular Fructooligosaccharide-Producing Enzymes and Immobilized Cells of Aspergillus aculeatus M105 and Purification and Biochemical Characterization of a Fructosyltransferase from the Fungus.

In this work, Aspergillus aculeatus M105 was obtained to produce high extracellular fructooligosaccharide-producing enzyme activity. The maximum yields of fructooligosaccharides produced by its extracellular enzymes and immobilized cells were 67.54 and 65.47% (w/w), respectively. A fructosyltransferase (FTase), AaFT32A, was purified from M105. The optimal pH and temperature of AaFT32A were pH 5.0-6.0 and 65 °C, respectively. The Km, Vmax, and kcat values for the transfructosylating activity of AaFT32A were 2267 mM, 1347 μmol/min/mg protein, and 1550.2 s(-1), respectively, and those values for the hydrolytic activity of AaFT32A were 6.10 mM, 32.44 μmol/min/mg protein, and 37.3 s(-1), respectively. The sequence of AaFT32A deduced from the cloned gene shared 99.4% identity with a FTase from Aspergillus japonicus CB05 and a fructofuranosidase from Aspergillus niger and 96.5% identity with a FTase (Aspacl_37092) from A. aculeatus ATCC 16872. The fungal strain and its FTase may have potential applications in the prebiotics industry.