A carboxymethylcellulose (CMC)-degrading bacterium was isolated from soil, identified as Bacillus methylotrophicus according to the physiological properties and analyses of 16S rRNA and a partial sequence of the gyrase A (gyrA) gene, and named as B. methylotrophicus Y37. The CMCase enzyme was purified to homogeneity by with recovery using single-step hydrophobic interaction chromatography and biochemically characterized. CMCase showed a molecular weight of approximately 50 kDa as determined by SDS-PAGE. The activity profile of the CMCase enzyme exhibited optimum activity at 45◦C and pH . |