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A Bacillus strain which produces β-galactosidase with high transgalactosylation activity, was isolated from soil and tentatively designated as Bacillus sp. A1. When β-galactosidase from Bacillus sp. A1 reacted with 40% (w/w) lactose, transgalactosylation ratio reached up to 90% at the 70% conversion of the initial lactose. The biosynthesis of the enzyme in Bacillus sp. A1 required lactose as an inducer and was repressed by glucose. Observing that the addition of amino acids to culture medium resulted in enhancing, to a significant extent, both the growth and the enzyme production of the strain, yeast extract and commercially available hydrolysates of protein were examined for the suitability as amino acid source. As it turned out, SMP, an enzymatic hydrolysis product of soybean protein from Fuji Oil Co.(Japan), was the most suitable for optimization of the culture medium. When Bacillus sp. A1 was cultured in the presence of 0.5% SMP and 2% lactose, the enzyme activity increased up to 1.8 U/㎖-broth.
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