Spray-dried composition comprising beta-galactosidase having transgalactosylating activity in combination with maltodextrin and/or NACL and application of the composition

1 . A spray-dried composition comprising a polypeptide which is a β-galactosidase having transgalactosylating activity wherein the composition comprises:

15-25 wt % maltodextrin, 10-20 wt % sodium chloride, and 0.1 wt % or less polyol,

wherein the spray-dried particles have a volume mean diameter of 50-70 μm,

wherein the polypeptide has a ratio of transgalactosylating activity to β-galactosidase activity of at least 4 at an initial lactose concentration of 3% w/w, wherein the composition retains at least 80% of its initial transgalactosylating activity after 12 months of storage at 25° C.,

and wherein, when the composition is incubated with a lactose-containing milk-based substrate comprising 5% w/w lactose at 37° C. and an enzyme concentration of 100 ppm for 3 hours, the composition produces galacto-oligosaccharides without detectable formation of galactosyl-glycerol.

2 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein the polypeptide having a transgalactosylating activity is selected from the group consisting of:

a. a polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence having at least 90% sequence identity with SEQ ID NO: 1, wherein said polypeptide consists of at most 980 amino acid residues,

b. a polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence having at least 97% sequence identity with SEQ ID NO: 2, wherein said polypeptide consists of at most 975 amino acid residues,

c. a polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence having at least 96.5% sequence identity with SEQ ID NO: 3, wherein said polypeptide consists of at most 1300 amino acid residues,

d. a polypeptide encoded by a polynucleotide that hybridizes under at least low stringency conditions with i) the nucleic acid sequence comprised in SEQ ID NO: 9, 10, 11, 12 or 13 encoding the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5; or ii) the complementary strand of i),

e. a polypeptide encoded by a polynucleotide comprising a nucleotide sequence having at least 70% identity to the nucleotide sequence encoding for the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 or the nucleotide sequence comprised in SEQ ID NO: 9, 10, 11, 12 or 13 encoding a mature polypeptide, and

f. a polypeptide comprising a deletion, insertion and/or conservative substitution of one or more amino acid residues of SEQ ID NO: 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5.

3 . The composition of claim 2 , wherein the polypeptide having transgalactosylating activity is selected from the group consisting of:

a. a polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence having at least 96.5% sequence identity with SEQ ID NO: 3, wherein said polypeptide consists of at most 1300 amino acid residues,

b. a polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence having at least 90% sequence identity with SEQ ID NO: 1, wherein said polypeptide consists of at most 980 amino acid residues,

c. a polypeptide encoded by a polynucleotide that hybridizes under at least low stringency conditions with i) the nucleic acid sequence comprised in SEQ ID NO: 9, 10, 11, 12 or 13 encoding the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5; or ii) the complementary strand of i),

d. a polypeptide encoded by a polynucleotide comprising a nucleotide sequence having at least 70% identity to the nucleotide sequence encoding for the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 or the nucleotide sequence comprised in SEQ ID NO: 9, 10, 11, 12 or 13 encoding a mature polypeptide, and

e. a polypeptide comprising a deletion, insertion and/or conservative substitution of one or more amino acid residues of SEQ ID NO: 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5.

4 . The composition of claim 3 , wherein the polypeptide having transgalactosylating activity comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1, 2, 3, 4 or 5.

5 . The composition of claim 1 , wherein the composition further contains potato starch.