Purification and Characterization of a Thermostable Xylanase from Paenibacillus sp. NF1 and its Application in Xylooligosaccharides Production

High levels of extracellular xylanase activity (211.79 IU/mg) produced by Paenibacillus sp. NF1 were detected when it was submerged-cultured. After three consecutive purification steps using Octyl-Sepharose, Sephadex G75, and Q-Sepharose columns, a thermostable xylanase (XynNF) was purified to homogeneity and showed a molecular mass of 37 kDa according to SDS-PAGE. The specific activity of the purified XynNF was up to 3,081.05 IU/mg with a 14.55-fold purification. The activity of XynNF was stimulated by $Ca^{2+}$, $Ba^{2+}$, DTT, and ${\beta}$-mercaptoethanol, but was inhibited by $Fe^{2+}$, $Zn^{2+}$, $Fe^{2+}$, $Cu^{2+}$, SDS, and EDTA. The purified XynNF displayed a greater affinity for oat spelt xylan with the maximal enzymatic activity at $60^{\circ}C$ and pH 6.0. XynNF, which was shown to be cellulose-free, with high stability at high temperature ($70^{\circ}C-80^{\circ}C$) and low pH range (pH 4.0-7.0), is potentially valuable for various industrial applications. The enzyme hydrolyzed oat spelt xylan to yield mainly xylooligosaccharides (95.8%) of 2-4 degree of polymerization (DP2-4). Moreover, the majority of the xylooligosacharides (DP2-4) products was xylobiose (61.5%). The thermostable xylanase (XynNF) thus seems potentially usefull in the production of xylooligosaccharides.