Characterization of lipase-deficient mutants of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus BD413: identification of a periplasmic lipase chaperone essential for the production of extracellular lipase

Phenotypic analysis of five Acinetobacter calcoaceticus mutants lacking extracellular lipase, which were generated via insertion mutagenesis, revealed four lipolytic enzymes. Biochemical tests classified four mutants as export mutants, while the additional mutant, designated AAC302, exhibited showed mutation 0.84 kbp upstream of lipA, although it displayed the LipA- phenotype. DNA sequencing of the region revealed an open reading frame that encodes a protein required for the production of extracellular lipase. It is suggested that this protein acts as a lipase-specific chaperone.