Lipase K (LIPK)

A plasmid named pLIP172, which has a 2.7-kb fragment carrying a lipase gene and a secondary gene, was obtained. The open reading frame of the lipase gene named lipK begins from a GTG initiation codon and putatively encodes a protein of 311 amino acids. The deduced amino acid sequence of the lipase LipK revealed high homology (36 to 53%) to the subfamily I.1 and I.2 Pseudomonas lipases. A secondary gene was located immediately downstream of lipK, similar to what occurs in subfamily I.1 and I.2 Pseudomonas lipase operons. The secondary gene was designated lipase modulator gene limK. The limK gene can encode a hydrophilic protein of 279 amino acids, which is 60 to 74 residues smaller than the previously known Pseudomonas Lifs.