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Journal of Bacteriology, September 1998, p. 4781-4789, Vol. 180, No. 18
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular
Biology and Center for Metalloenzyme Studies, University of
Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602,1 and
Department of Genetics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City,
Utah 841122
Received 24 March 1998/Accepted 7 July 1998
Proline dipeptidase (prolidase) was purified from cell extracts of
the proteolytic, hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus by multistep chromatography. The enzyme is a homodimer (39.4 kDa per subunit) and as purified contains one cobalt atom per
subunit. Its catalytic activity also required the addition of
Co2+ ions (Kd, 0.24 mM), indicating
that the enzyme has a second metal ion binding site. Co2+
could be replaced by Mn2+ (resulting in a 25% decrease in
activity) but not by Mg2+, Ca2+,
Fe2+, Zn2+, Cu2+, or
Ni2+. The prolidase exhibited a narrow substrate
specificity and hydrolyzed only dipeptides with proline at the C
terminus and a nonpolar amino acid (Met, Leu, Val, Phe, or Ala) at the
N terminus. Optimal prolidase activity with Met-Pro as the substrate
occurred at a pH of 7.0 and a temperature of 100°C. The N-terminal
amino acid sequence of the purified prolidase was used to identify in
the P. furiosus genome database a putative
prolidase-encoding gene with a product corresponding to 349 amino
acids. This gene was expressed in Escherichia coli and the
recombinant protein was purified. Its properties, including molecular
mass, metal ion dependence, pH and temperature optima, substrate
specificity, and thermostability, were indistinguishable from those of
the native prolidase from P. furiosus. Furthermore, the
Km values for the substrate Met-Pro were
comparable for the native and recombinant forms, although the
recombinant enzyme exhibited a twofold greater Vmax value than the native protein. The amino
acid sequence of P. furiosus prolidase has significant
similarity with those of prolidases from mesophilic organisms, but the
enzyme differs from them in its substrate specificity, thermostability,
metal dependency, and response to inhibitors. The P. furiosus enzyme appears to be the second Co-containing member
(after methionine aminopeptidase) of the binuclear N-terminal
exopeptidase family.
0021-9193/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Characterization of Native and Recombinant Forms of an Unusual
Cobalt-Dependent Proline Dipeptidase (Prolidase) from the
Hyperthermophilic Archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Life Sciences Bldg., University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-7229. Phone: (706) 542-2060. Fax: (706) 542-0229. E-mail: adamsm{at}bscr.uga.edu.
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