title: High-level expression, purification, and enzymatic characterization of full-length Thermus aquaticus DNA polymerase and a truncated form deficient in 5' to 3' exonuclease activity.
abstract: The Thermus aquaticus DNA polymerase I (Taq Pol I) gene was cloned into a plasmid expression vector that utilizes the strong bacteriophage lambda PL promoter. A truncated form of Taq Pol I was also constructed. The two constructs made it possible to compare the full-length 832-amino-acid Taq Pol I and a deletion derivative encoding a 544-amino-acid translation product, the Stoffel fragment. Upon heat induction, the 832-amino-acid construct produced 1-2% of total protein as Taq Pol I. The induced 544-amino-acid construct produced 3% of total protein as Stoffel fragment. Enzyme purification included cell lysis, heat treatment followed by Polymin P precipitation of nucleic acids, phenyl sepharose column chromatography, and heparin-Sepharose column chromatography. For full-length 94-kD Taq Pol I, yield was 3.26 x 10(7) units of activity from 165 grams wet weight cell paste. For the 61-kD Taq Pol I Stoffel fragment, the yield was 1.03 x 10(6) units of activity from 15.6 grams wet weight cell paste. The two enzymes have maximal activity at 75 degrees C to 80 degrees C, 2-4 mM MgCl2 and 10-55 mM KCl. The nature of the substrate determines the precise conditions for maximal enzyme activity. For both proteins, MgCl2 is the preferred cofactor compared to MnCl2, CoCl2, and NiCl2. The full-length Taq Pol I has an activity half-life of 9 min at 97.5 degrees C. The Stoffel fragment has a half-life of 21 min at 97.5 degrees C. Taq Pol I contains a polymerization-dependent 5' to 3' exonuclease activity whereas the Stoffel fragment, deleted for the 5' to 3' exonuclease domain, does not possess that activity. A comparison is made among thermostable DNA polymerases that have been characterized; specific activities of 292,000 units/mg for Taq Pol I and 369,000 units/mg for the Stoffel fragment are the highest reported.
authors.affiliation: Program in Core Research, Roche Molecular Systems, Alameda, California 94501.
authors.forename: F C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Lawyer
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stoffel
authors.forename: R K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Saiki
authors.forename: S Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Landre
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Abramson
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Gelfand
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004256:DNA Polymerase I / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D015870:Gene Expression; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D013696:Temperature; D013824:Thermus / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D004256:DNA Polymerase I