The mechanism of action of primary alkylsulphohydrolase and arylsulphohydrolase from a detergent-degrading micro-organism

Abstract

Previous studies showed that secondary alkylsulfohydrolases from certain detergent-degrading microorganisms are unusual esterases in that they catalyze fission of the C-O bond of the alkyl sulfate ester linkage. The position of bond fission catalyzed by a primary alkylsulfatase and an arylsulfohydrolase present in Pseudomonas C12B was now investigated. The primary alkylsulfatase behaved like the secondary alkyl-sulfohydrolases in cleaving the C-O bond of potassium heptan-1-yl sulfate. In contrast, the arylsulfohydrolase, in common with other similar enzymes previously studied, catalyzed the fission of the O-S bond of potassium p-nitrophenyl sulfate.