Extremely Thermophilic Microorganisms

Thermal and conformational stability of Ssh10b protein from archaeon Sulfolobus shibattae

The secondary structure of the DNA binding protein Ssh10b is largely unaffected by change in temperature between 25 degrees C and 85 degrees C, indicating that the protein is highly thermostable. Here, we report the temperature-dependent equilibrium denaturation of Ssh10b in the presence of guanidine hydrochloride (GdnHCl). It was found that the transition midpoint values of the temperature (T(m)), and changes of enthalpy (DeltaH(m)) and entropy (DeltaS(m)) of Ssh10b unfolding were linearly decreasing with increasing GdnHCl concentration. The true values of the thermodynamic parameters, T(m)=402 K, DeltaH(m)=590+/-40 kJ x mol(-1) and DeltaS(m)=1.4+/-0.15 kJ x T(-1) x mol(-1), were obtained by linear extrapolation to 0 M GdnHCl. The value of the heat capacity change of Ssh10b unfolding, DeltaC(p)=3.8+/-0.2 kJ x T(-1) x mol(-1) (approx. 19 J T(-1) x mol residue(-1)), was obtained from the measured thermodynamic parameters. This is significantly smaller than that of the average value for mesophilic proteins (50 J.K(-1) x mol residue(-1)) or the value calculated from the Ssh10b structural data (64 J T(-1) x mol residue(-1)). A consequence of the small DeltaC(p) is that the DeltaG of Ssh10b is larger than that of mesophilic proteins, while the values of DeltaH and T*DeltaS are smaller. The small DeltaC(p) of Ssh10b appears to result mainly from the presence of compactness in the denatured state.

Biochemical and molecular characterization of the [NiFe] hydrogenase from the hyperthermophilic archaeon, Thermococcus litoralis

Thermococcus litoralis is a hyperthermophilic archaeon that grows at temperatures up to 98 degrees C by fermentative metabolism and reduces elemental sulfur (S0) to H2S. A [NiFe] hydrogenase, responsible for H2S or H2 production, has been purified and characterized. The enzyme is composed of four subunits with molecular mass 46, 42, 34 and 32 kDa. Elemental analyses gave approximate values of 22 Fe, 22 S and 1 Ni per hydrogenase. EPR spectra at 70 and 5 K indicated the presence of four or five [4Fe-4S] and one [2Fe-2S] type clusters. The optimal temperature for both H2 evolution and oxidation, using artificial electron carriers, was around 80 degrees C. The operon encoding the T. litoralis enzyme is composed of four genes forming one transcriptional unit, and transcription is not regulated by S0. An unusual transcription-initiation site is located 139 bp upstream from the translational start point. Sequence analyses indicated the presence of new putative nucleotide-binding domains. Upstream from the hydrogenase operon, ORFs probably encoding a molybdopterin oxidoreductase enzyme have been identified. Based on sequence, biochemical and biophysical analyses, a model of the enzyme and the pathway of electron flow during catalysis is proposed.

Linkage of protonation and anion binding to the folding of Sac7d

The temperature, pH, and salt dependence of the folding of recombinant Sac7d from the hyperthermophile Sulfolobus acidocaldarius is mapped using multi-dimensional differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and folding progress surfaces followed by circular dichroism. Linkage relations are derived to explain the observed dependencies, and it is shown that the data can be explained by the linkage of at least two protonation reactions and two anion binding sites to a two-state unfolding process. Circular dichroism spectra indicate that a native-like fold is stabilized at acid pH by anion binding. An apparent binding isotherm surface (folding progress versus pH and salt) is used to obtain intrinsic chloride binding constants as a function of pH for both sites. A saddle is predicted in the folding progress surface (progress versus temperature and pH) at low salt with a minimum near pH 2 and 20 degrees C with approximately 25% of the protein folded. The position of the saddle is sensitive to the intrinsic delta C degrees of unfolding and provides a third measure of delta C degrees independent of that obtained by a Kirchoff plot of DSC data and chemical denaturation. The observed enthalpy of unfolding approaches zero near the saddle making the unfolding largely invisible to DSC under these conditions. The linkage analysis demonstrates that the delta C degrees for unfolding obtained from a Kirchoff plot of DSC data should be distinguished from the intrinsic delta C degrees of unfolding. It is shown that the discrepancy between the free energy of unfolding for Sac7d obtained by DSC and that obtained by chemical denaturation may be explained by the linkage of protonation and anion binding to protein folding. The linkage analysis demonstrates the limitations of using the delta Hcal/ delta Hvh ratio an indication of two-state unfolding.

Snake venom cardiotoxins-structure, dynamics, function and folding

Snake cardiotoxins are highly basic (pI > 10) small molecular weight (approximately 6.5 kDa), all beta-sheet proteins. They exhibit a broad spectrum of interesting biological activities. The secondary structural elements in these toxins include antiparallel double and triple stranded beta-sheets. The three dimensional structures of these toxins reveal an unique asymmetric distribution of the hydrophobic and hydrophilic amino acids. The 3D structures of closely related snake venom toxins such as neurotoxins and cardiotoxin-like basic proteins (CLBP) fail to show similar pattern(s) in the distribution of polar and nonpolar residues. Recently, many novel biological activities have been reported for cardiotoxins. However, to-date, there is no clear structure-function correlation(s) available for snake venom cardiotoxins. The aim of this comprehensive review is to summarize and critically evaluate the progress in research on the structure, dynamics, function and folding aspects of snake venom cardiotoxins.