title: Bombyx mori pyridoxal kinase cDNA cloning and enzymatic characterization.
abstract: Pyridoxal kinase (PLK) (EC 2.7.1.35) catalyzes the ATP-dependent phosphorylation of pyridoxal, generating pyridoxal-5.-phosphate (PLP), an important cofactor for many enzymatic reactions. Bombyx mori, similar to mammals, relies on a nutritional source of vitamin B6 to synthesize PLP. This article describes how a cDNA encoding PLK was cloned from Bombyx mori using the PCR method (GenBank accession number: DQ452397). The cDNA has an 894 bp open reading frame and encodes a protein of 298 amino acid residues with a molecular mass of 33.1 kDa. The amino acid sequence shares 48.6% identity with that of human PLK, and it also contains signature conserved motifs of the PLK family. However, the protein is 10 or more amino acids shorter than the PLK from mammals and plants, and several amino acid residues conserved in the PLK from mammals and plants are changed in the protein. The cDNA cloned was expressed successfully in Escherichia coli using the T7 promoter/T7 RNA polymerase expression system, and the crude extracts containing the expressed product were found to have strong PLK enzymatic activity with a value of 30 nmol/min/mg, confirming that the cDNA encodes the functional PLK of Bombyx mori. This is the first identification of a gene encoding PLK in insects.
authors: Key Laboratory of Tea Biochemistry & Biotechnology, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Agriculture, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China.
authors: Ruijun
authors: R
authors: Shi
authors: Jianyun
authors: J
authors: Zhang
authors: Changjun
authors: C
authors: Jiang
authors: Longquan
authors: L
authors: Huang
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D012831:Bombyx / Q000201:enzymology*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011731:Pyridoxal Kinase / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D011731:Pyridoxal Kinase