ISSN:
1433-4909
Keywords:
Key wordsAquifex pyrophilus
;
Hyperthermophile
;
Genome sequence
;
Protease
;
Racemase
;
Oxidase
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
Notes:
Abstract Aquifex pyrophilus is one of the hyperthermophilic bacteria that can grow at temperatures up to 95°C. To obtain information about its genomic structure, random sequencing was performed on plasmid libraries containing 0.5–2 kb genomic DNA fragments of A. pyrophilus. Comparison of the obtained sequence tags with known proteins revealed that 123 tags showed strong similarity to previously identifed proteins in the PIR or Genebank databases. These included three proteases, two amino acid racemases, and three enzymes utilizing oxygen as substrate. Although the GC ratio of the genome is about 40%, the codon usage of A. pyrophilus showed biased occurrence of G and C at the third position of codons, especially those for amino acids such as asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamine, glutamic acid, histidine, lysine, and tyrosine. A higher ratio of positively charged amino acids in A. pyrophilus proteins as compared with proteins from mesophiles suggested that Aquifex proteins might contain increased ion-pair interaction that could help to maintain heat stability.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s007920050025
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