NOVELTY - Isolated polypeptide having alpha -amylase activity comprising: polypeptide comprising amino acid sequence having at least 75% identity to polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2; polypeptide encoded by polynucleotide that hybridizes under stringency condition with polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 or its complementary strand; polypeptide encoded by polynucleotide comprising nucleotide sequence having at least 75% identity to polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1; or variant comprising substitution, deletion and/or insertion of at least one amino acid of polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2, is new.    USE - The polypeptide is useful: for starch modification in the food, paper and pulp industry, starch liquefaction, textile washing, textile desizing, brewing, ethanol production and/or baking; for hydrolyzing an ungelatinized starch; in the production of ethanol (all claimed) as fuel or drinking ethanol (portable alcohol); for producing a beverage, organic compounds e.g. citric acid, itaconic acid, lactic acid, gluconic acid, sodium gluconate, calcium gluconate, potassium gluconate, glucono-delta-lactone and sodium erythorbate, ketones, amino acids e.g. glutamic acid (sodium monoglutamate), complex compounds e.g. antibiotics (e.g. penicillin and tetracycline), enzymes, vitamins (e.g. riboflavin, B12 and beta -carotene) and hormones, which are difficult to produce synthetically.    ADVANTAGE - The polypeptide: has improved properties e.g. increased stability at low pH, activity at over a broader pH spectrum and high specific activity; and improves the quality of a food or feed e.g. improving nutritional value, palatability and rheological properties, or to destroy an anti-nutritive factor.    DETAILED DESCRIPTION - Isolated polypeptide having alpha -amylase activity comprising: a polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence having at least 75%, preferably at least 99% identity to the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2 (Sequence not defined here may be found at ftp://ftp.wipo.int/pub/published_pct_sequences/publication) and/or the catalytic domain of SEQ ID NO: 2; a polypeptide encoded by a polynucleotide that hybridizes under at least high stringency conditions with the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 (the nucleotide sequence comprises the sequence present in plasmid which is contained in Escherichia coli NN049711 deposit number DSM 22596) and/or the catalytic domain coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, or a full-length complementary strand of the mature polypeptide; a polypeptide encoded by a polynucleotide comprising a nucleotide sequence having at least 75%, preferably at least 99% identity to the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 and/or the catalytic domain coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1; or a variant comprising a substitution, deletion, and/or insertion of at least one amino acid of the mature polypeptide and/or the catalytic domain of SEQ ID NO: 2, is new. INDEPENDENT CLAIMS are also included for:    (1) an isolated polynucleotide comprising a nucleotide sequence that encodes the isolated polypeptide;    (2) a nucleic acid construct comprising the polynucleotide operably linked to at least one control sequence that directs the production of the polypeptide in an expression host;    (3) a recombinant expression vector comprising the nucleic acid construct;    (4) a recombinant host cell comprising the nucleic acid construct;    (5) productions of the polypeptide;    (6) a transgenic plant, or its part, or its cell transformed with a polynucleotide encoding the polypeptide;    (7) a composition comprising the polypeptide and an enzyme comprising a fungal alpha -amylase (EC 3.2.1.1), a beta -amylase (EC 3.2.1.2), a glucoamylase (EC 3.2.1.3), a pullulanase (EC 3.2.1.41), a phytase (EC 3.1.2.28) or a protease (EC 3.4); and    (8) a process for producing a fermentation product, comprising: liquefying starch containing material with the polypeptide to form a liquefied mash; saccharifying the liquefied mash to form fermentable sugars; and fermenting the fermentable sugars to produce the fermentation product.