Pectate lyase (EC 4.2.2.2) gene from Bacillus subtilis RCK was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coil to maximize its production. In addition to soluble fraction, bioactive pectate lyase was also obtained from inclusion body aggregates by urea solubilization and refolding under in vitro conditions. Enzyme with specific activity similar to 3194 IU/mg and 1493 IU/mg were obtained from soluble and inclusion bodies (1135) fraction with recovery of 56% and 74% in terms of activity, respectively. The recombinant enzyme was moderately thermostable (t(1/2) 60 min at 50 degrees C) and optimally active in wider alkaline pH range (7.0-10.5). Interaction of protein with its cofactor CaCl2 was found to stimulate the change in tertiary structure as revealed by near UV CD spectra. Intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence spectra indicated that tryptophan is involved in substrate binding and there might be independent binding of Ca2+ and polygalacturonic acid to the active site. The recombinant enzyme was found to be capable of degrading pectin and polygalacturonic acid. The work reports novel conditions for refolding to obtain active recombinant pectate lyase from inclusion bodies and elucidates the effect of ligand and substrate binding on protein conformation by circular dichroism (CD) and fluorescence spectrofluorometry. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.