Abstract: library of Pseudoalteromonas carrageenovora arylsulfatase mutants was constructed by random mutagenesis using error-prone PCR. After screening, one mutant strain named 4-153 was obtained whose arylsulfatase had improved thermal stability. It was found that there were two amino acid substitutions in the mutant, including D84A and H260L. When p-nitrophenyl sulfate was used as a substrate, the optimal reaction temperature for the mutant enzyme was 55 ℃. Mutant arylsulfatase 4-153 (M4-153) retained 85%, 83%, 48%, and 13% of its initial activity after incubation at 45, 50, 55 and 60 ℃ for 30 min, respectively. Meanwhile, wild-type arylsulfatase (WT) retained 79%, 68%, 21%, and 1% of its initial activity after incubation at 45, 50, 55 and 60 ℃ for 30 min, respectively. These results showed that M4-153 had a better thermal stability than WT. M4-153 had an optimum pH of 8.0, and it was stable over the pH range of 5.0–9.0. Inhibition assay with EDTA indicated that metal ions played an important role in the catalytic process of the mutant enzyme. The recombinant arylsulfatase 4-153 showed a relatively strong tolerance to some detected detergents including Triton X-100, Tween 20, Tween 80, and Chaps. The desulfuration ratio of the crude polysaccharides from Gracilaria lemaneiformis by M4-153 was 79.5%.

Key words: arylesterase, error-prone PCR, improved thermostability, mutant property