Cloning and Characterization of the Urease Gene Cluster of Streptococcus vestibularis ATCC49124

A genomic library of Streptococcus vestibularis ATCC49124 was constructed in an E. coli plasmid vector, and the urease-positive transformants harboring the urease gene cluster were isolated on Christensen-urea agar plates. The minimal DNA region required for urease activity was located in a 5.6 kb DNA fragment, and a DNA sequence analysis revealed the presence of a partial ureI gene and seven complete open reading frames, corresponding to ureA, B, C, E, F, G, and D, respectively. The nucleotide sequence over the entire ure gene cluster and 3'-end flanking region of S. vestibularis was up to 95% identical to that of S. salivarius, another closely related oral bacterium, and S. thermophilus, isolated from dairy products. The predicted amino acid sequences for the structural peptides were 98-100% identical to the corresponding peptides in S. salivarius and S. thermophilus, respectively, whereas those for the accessory proteins were 96-100% identical. The recombinant E. coli strain containing the S. vestibularis ure gene cluster expressed a high level of the functional urease holoenzyme when grown in a medium supplemented with 1 mM nickel chloride. The enzyme was purified over 49-fold by using DEAE-Sepharose FF, Superdex HR 200, and Mono-Q HR 5/5 column chromatography. The specific activity of the purified enzyme was 2,019 U/mg, and the Michaelis constant ($K_{m}$) of the enzyme was estimated to be 1.4 mM urea. A Superose 6HR gel filtration chromatography study demonstrated that the native molecular weight was about 196 kDa.