Invertase from Candida utilis

Invertase from Candida utilis has been used:

• as a supplement in YE liquid medium to observe for morphological changes in Streptomyces sp.
• to determine the sucrose content in ethanolic extract of leaf tissues
• to determine the total non-structural carbohydrates (TNC) in root tissues

This enzyme is useful for enzymatic determination of saccharose and for the structure investigation of carbohydrates containing β-D-fructofuranoside residue.

Invertase acts on sucrose and cleaves it into glucose and fructose. It is used in the preparation of invert syrup with equimolar concentration of fructose and sucrose. It finds its applications in confectionaries and in the production of alcoholic beverages, glycerol and lactic acid. Invertase is also used in the preparation of artificial honey, plasticizers for cosmetic industries.

Invertase from Candida utilis is secreted in the periplasm. The molecular weight of invertase from C. utilis is 300 kDa. It is a dimer of identical subunits. It is a N-glycosylated protein, rich in mannose oligosaccharide in its structure. The invertase encoding gene of C. utilis shares high homology with SUC2 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Michaelis constant : 1.5x10 ^-2M (Saccharose)
Structure : Glycoprotein containing ca. 50% of carbohydrates
Optimum pH : 3.5 - 4.0 Optimum temperature : 60 - 70o^C
pH Stability : pH 4.0 - 6.0 (50o^C, 10min)
Thermal stability : below 60o^C (pH 4.5, 10min)
Substrate specificity : The enzyme hydrolyzes saccharose and raffinose, but does not
hydrolyze inulin and melezitose.6⁾

One unit will hydrolyze 1.0 μmole of sucrose to invert sugar per min at pH 4.5 at 55°C.

Chromatographically purified