title: The glgB gene from the thermophile Bacillus caldolyticus encodes a thermolabile branching enzyme.
abstract: We have cloned the structural gene for the Bacillus caldolyticus glycogen branching enzyme (glgB) in Escherichia coli. The glgB gene consisted of a 1998 bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding a 78,087 Da protein, which was highly similar to the Bacillus stearothermophilus branching enzyme. The 5' end of a second gene that encoded a protein with extensive similarity to E. coli ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (ADPGP) partly overlapped the 3' end of the glgB gene. A putative promoter recognized by Bacillus subtilis RNA polymerase containing the sigma factor H (E-sigma H) preceded the genes. These data suggest that in contrast to the situation observed in B. stearothermophilus, the genes involved in glycogen synthesis in B. caldolyticus are clustered on the chromosome, and are presumably coordinately expressed during the early stages of sporulation. An incomplete third gene started upstream of B. caldolyticus glgB. This gene was highly similar to a gene found directly upstream of B. stearothermophilus glgB, which encodes a putative membrane protein with unknown function. The B. caldolyticus glgB gene was expressed in E. coli and B. subtilis. Surprisingly, the branching enzyme appeared to be thermolabile, the temperature of optimal activity being only 39 degrees C.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, Center of Biological Sciences, Haren, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Kiel
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Boels
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Beldman
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Venema
mesh_terms: D015061:1,4-alpha-Glucan Branching Enzyme / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001407:Bacillus / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics*; D001482:Base Composition; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D003062:Codon / Q000235:genetics; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D004795:Enzyme Stability; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D015870:Gene Expression; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D005807:Genes, Overlapping; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D010957:Plasmids; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D003062:Codon; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D015061:1,4-alpha-Glucan Branching Enzyme