A meta-analysis of the activity, stability, and mutational characteristics of temperature-adapted enzymes

Understanding the characteristics that define temperature-adapted enzymes has been a major goal of extremophile enzymology in recent decades. In this study, we explore these characteristics by comparing psychrophilic, mesophilic, and thermophilic enzymes. Through a meta-analysis of existing data, we show that psychrophilic enzymes exhibit a significantly larger gap (Tg) between their optimum and melting temperatures compared to mesophilic and thermophilic enzymes. These results suggest that Tg may be a useful indicator as to whether an enzyme is psychrophilic or not and that models of psychrophilic enzyme catalysis need to account for this gap. Additionally, by using predictive protein stability software, HoTMuSiC and PoPMuSiC, we show that the deleterious nature of amino acid substitutions to protein stability increases from psychrophiles to thermophiles. How this ultimately affects the mutational tolerance and evolutionary rate of temperature adapted organisms is currently unknown.

Purification and Characterization of a Catalase from the Facultatively Psychrophilic Bacterium Vibrio rumoiensis S-1T Exhibiting High Catalase Activity

ABSTRACT Catalase from the facultatively psychrophilic bacteriumVibrio rumoiensis S-1T, which was isolated from an environment exposed to H2O2 and exhibited high catalase activity, was purified and characterized, and its localization in the cell was determined. Its molecular mass was 230 kDa, and the molecule consisted of four identical subunits. The enzyme, which was not apparently reduced by dithionite, showed a Soret peak at 406 nm in a resting state. The catalytic activity was 527,500 U · mg of protein−1 under standard reaction conditions at 40°C, 1.5 and 4.3 times faster, respectively, than those of theMicrococcus luteus and bovine catalases examined under the same reaction conditions, and showed a broad optimum pH range (pH 6 to 10). The catalase from strain S-1T is located not only in the cytoplasmic space but also in the periplasmic space. There is little difference in the activation energy for the activity between strain S-1T catalase and M. luteus and bovine liver catalases. The thermoinstability of the activity of the former catalase were significantly higher than those of the latter catalases. The thermoinstability suggests that the catalase from strain S-1T should be categorized as a psychrophilic enzyme. Although the catalase from strain S-1T is classified as a mammal type catalase, it exhibits the unique enzymatic properties of high intensity of enzymatic activity and thermoinstability. The results obtained suggest that these unique properties of the enzyme are in accordance with the environmental conditions under which the microorganism lives.

Purification and characterization of the heat-labile α-amylase secreted by the psychrophilic bacterium TAC 240B

A total of 59 bacteria samples from Antarctic sea water were collected and screened for their ability to produce α-amylase. The highest activity was recorded from an isolate identified as an Alteromonas species. The purified α-amylase shows a molecular mass of about 50 000 Da and a pI of 5.2. The enzyme is stable from pH 7.5 to 9 and has a maximal activity at pH 7.5. Compared with other α-amylases from mesophiles and thermophiles, the "cold enzyme" displays a higher activity at low temperature and a lower stability at high temperature. The psychrophilic α-amylase requires both Cl-and Ca2+for its amylolytic activity. Br-is also quite effecient as an allosteric effector. The comparison of the amino acid composition with those of other α-amylases from various organisms shows that the cold α-amylase has the lowest content in Arg and Pro residues. This could be involved in the principle used by the psychrophilic enzyme to adapt its molecular structure to the low temperature of the environment. Key words: α-amylase, psychrophilic microorganisms, Antarctic.