CLONING OF A GENE ENCODING NATTOKINASE FROM BACILLUS SUBTILIS N05

Abstract

Natto is a kind of functional food that is highly valued in Asia, and has been proved to significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular accidents as well as cerebral stroke. The main bioactive component in natto is a kind of subtilisin called nattokinase (EC 3.4.21.62). Nattokinase is produced by various Bacillus subtilis natto strains, a beneficial bacterium that is present in many fermented foods. Currently nattokinase can be produced by traditional fermentation method or by recombinant DNA technology. In this research we report the cloning of a gene encoding nattokinase from Bacillus subtilis strain N05 that has previously been isolated from natto products of Japan. The enconding gene (N05, Genbank accession No:  KU341115) is 1147 bp long, encodes for a 27.7 kDa mature protein.