Molecular cloning and characterization of a novel cold-active lipase from Pichia lynferdii NRRL Y-7723

Lipase is one of the widely used biocatalysts, which is well studied for its application in industrial production. Recently, lipases with special characteristics such as thermo-stability, alkaline-, acidic nature, and cold-activity, have gained attention for effective applications in specific purposes. Previously, Pichia lynferdii NRRL Y-7723 was reported to produce high amounts of extracellular cold-active lipase (Kim et al., 2010). In this study, we report the identification of lip1 gene that encodes an extracellular cold-active lipase from P. lynferdii NRRL Y-7723. The open reading frame of the gene consisted of 1122 bp of nucleotides that encoded a protein with 373 amino acids. The deduced molecular weight and isoelectric point were 41.8 kDa and pH 5.82, respectively. The lip1 gene was cloned into a bacterial expression vector, and the recombinant lipase was successfully expressed and purified. Several parameters of the recombinant lipase were analyzed, and Lip1 showed high activity at low temperature.