Brettanomyces lambicus was isolated and identified from a typical overattenuating Belgian lambic beer and exhibited extracellular and intracellular alpha-glucosidase activities. Production of the intracellular enzyme was higher than production of the extracellular enzyme, and localization studies showed that the intracellular alpha-glucosidase is mostly soluble and partially cell wall bound. Both intracellular and extracellular enzymes were purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation, gel filtration (Sephadex G-150, Sephadex G-200, Ultrogel AcA-44), and ion-exchange chromatography (sulfopropyl-Sephadex C-50, (carboxymethyl-Sephadex C-50). The intracellular alpha-glucosidase exhibited optimum activity at 39-degrees-C and pH 6.2. The extracellular enzyme exhibited optimum catalytic activity at 40-degrees-C and pH 6.0. The molecular masses of purified intracellular and extracellular alpha-glucosidases, as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, were 72,500 and 77,250, respectively. For both enzymes there was a decrease in the rate of hydrolysis with an increase in the degree of polymerization, and both enzymes hydrolyzed dextrins isolated from lambic wort (degrees of polymerization, 3 to 9 and more than 9). The K(m) values for p-nitrophenyl-alpha-D-glucopyranoside, maltose, and maltotriose for the intracellular enzyme were 0.9, 3.4, and 3.7 mM, respectively. The K(i) values for both enzymes were between 28.5 and 57 muM for acarbose and between 7.45 and 15.7 mM for Tris. These enzymes are probably involved in the overattenuation of spontaneously fermented lambic beer.
