Mn$2^＋$ dependent ClpL ATPase in Streptococcus pneumoniae

HSP100/Clp family functions as molecular chaperone and ATP dependent protease. The Streptococcus pneumoniae ClpL. a homologue of bacterial ClpB and yeast cytosolic HSP 104. is one of major heat shock proteins but its biochemical properties are unknown. In this study. ClpL in Streptococcus pneumoniaewas characterized using histidine tagged recombinant ClpL. When ATP hydrolysis activity was compared in the presence or absence of a variety of nucleotides or divalent ions. either ATP or Mn$2^＋$ ion was found to increase significantly the rate of ATP hydrolysis. Furthermore. glutaraldehyde cross-linking and subsequent native-PAGE analfysis showed that ClpL forms dimer. but in the presence of 4 mM concentration of $Mn^{2＋}$ion as a cofactor for ATP hydrolysis and oligormerization in vitro.