Purification and Characterization of Chloramphenicol Acetyltransferase from Morganella morganii

Chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) was purified to homogeneity from Morganella morganii starting with ammonium sulphate fractionation, followed by separation on DEAE-Sephadex A50, and G-100 Sephadex gel filtration. The enzyme was purified 133.3 fold and showed a final specific activity of 60 units/mg protein with a yield of 37%. Sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) of the purified enzyme revealed it as a heterotetramer that consists of four subunits with close molecular weights (19.5, 19, 18, and 17.5 kDa). The molecular weight of the native enzyme was calculated to be 78 kDa, as determined by gel filtration, which approximated to that of the four subunits (74 kDa). The enzyme showed a maximum activity at pH 7.8 when incubated at $35^{\circ}C$. A Lineweaver-Burk analysis gave a Km of 5.0 uM and Vmax of 153.8 U/ml. The amino acid composition of the purified enzyme was also determined.