title: Cloning and over-expression of thermostable Bacillus sp. YM55-1 aspartase and site-directed mutagenesis for probing a catalytic residue.
abstract: A thermostable aspartase gene (aspB) from Bacillus sp. YM55-1 was cloned and the gene sequenced. The aspB gene (1407 bp ORF) encodes a protein with a molecular mass of 51 627 Da, consisting of 468 amino-acid residues. An amino-acid sequence comparison revealed that Bacillus YM55-1 aspartase shared 71% homology with Bacillus subtilis aspartase and 49% with Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas fluorescens aspartases. The E. coli TK237/pUCASPB strain, which was obtained by transforming E. coli TK237 (aspartase-null strain) with a vector plasmid (pUCASPB) containing the cloned aspB gene, produced a large amount of the enzyme corresponding to > 10% of the total soluble protein. The over-expressed recombinant enzyme (native molecular mass: 200 kDa) was purified effectively and rapidly using heat treatment and affinity chromatography. In order to probe the catalytic residues of this enzyme, two conserved amino-acid residues, Lys183 and His134, were individually mutated to alanine. Although the tertiary structure of each mutant was estimated to be the same as that of wild-type aspartase in CD and fluorescence measurements, the Lys183Ala mutant lost its activity completely, whereas His134Ala retained full activity. This finding suggests that Lys183 may be involved in the catalytic activity of this thermostable Bacillus YM55-1 aspartase.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Tottori University, Japan. kawata@bio.tottori-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kawata
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tamura
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kawamura
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ikei
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mizobata
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nagai
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fujita
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yano
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tokushige
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yumoto
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D019943:Amino Acid Substitution; D001220:Aspartate Ammonia-Lyase / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D001407:Bacillus / Q000201:enzymology*; D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics; D001483:Base Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D002384:Catalysis; D020134:Catalytic Domain; D002942:Circular Dichroism; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004790:Enzyme Induction; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006358:Hot Temperature; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D008970:Molecular Weight; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D011551:Pseudomonas fluorescens / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D001220:Aspartate Ammonia-Lyase