Compositions of and methods of using sulfatases from flavobacterium heparinum

An isolated nucleic acid molecule which codes for 6-O-sulfatase or N-sulfamidase selected from the group consisting of:

• (a) nucleic acid molecules which hybridize at 65° C. in hybridization buffer (3.5×SSC (0.15 M sodium chloride/0.015 M sodium citrate, pH 7), 0.02% Ficoll, 0.02% polyvinyl pyrrolidone, 0.02% Bovine Serum Albumin, 2.5 mM NaH2PO4 (pH 7), 0.5% sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), 2 mM ethylenediaminetetracetic acid (EDTA));
• and after washing first in 2×SSC at room temperature and second in 0.1-0.5×SSC/0.1×SDS at 68° C. to a nucleic acid molecule having a nucleotide sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:
• 1 or 3;
• (b) nucleic acid molecules that differ from the nucleic acid molecules of (a) in codon sequence due to degeneracy of the genetic code, and
• (c) full complements of (a) or (b).