Journal article

Publication year: 2011

Pages: e25724-

Journal: PLoS ONE

Volume number: 6

Issue number: 10

ISSN: 1932-6203

eISSN: 1932-6203

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0025724

Publisher: Public Library of Science

Abstract: 
Fungal laccases have been used in various fields ranging from processes in wood and paper industries to environmental applications. Although a few bacterial laccases have been characterized in recent years, prokaryotes have largely been neglected as a source of novel enzymes, in part due to the lack of knowledge about the diversity and distribution of laccases within Bacteria. In this work genes for laccase-like enzymes were searched for in over 2,200 complete and draft bacterial genomes and four metagenomic datasets, using the custom profile Hidden Markov Models for two-and three-domain laccases. More than 1,200 putative genes for laccase-like enzymes were retrieved from chromosomes and plasmids of diverse bacteria. In 76% of the genes, signal peptides were predicted, indicating that these bacterial laccases may be exported from the cytoplasm, which contrasts with the current belief. Moreover, several examples of putatively horizontally transferred bacterial laccase genes were described. Many metagenomic sequences encoding fragments of laccase-like enzymes could not be phylogenetically assigned, indicating considerable novelty. Laccase-like genes were also found in anaerobic bacteria, autotrophs and alkaliphiles, thus opening new hypotheses regarding their ecological functions. Bacteria identified as carrying laccase genes represent potential sources for future biotechnological applications.

Harvard Citation style: Ausec, L., Zakrzewski, M., Goesmann, A., Schlüter, A. and Mandic-Mulec, I. (2011) Bioinformatic Analysis Reveals High Diversity of Bacterial Genes for Laccase-Like Enzymes, PLoS ONE, 6(10), p. e25724. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0025724

APA Citation style: Ausec, L., Zakrzewski, M., Goesmann, A., Schlüter, A., & Mandic-Mulec, I. (2011). Bioinformatic Analysis Reveals High Diversity of Bacterial Genes for Laccase-Like Enzymes. PLoS ONE. 6(10), e25724. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0025724