The Enzymatic Characteristics of the Cytidine Deaminase in Salmonella typhimurium

The cytidine deaminase was partialy purified with sephadex G-200 and the characteristics of the enzyme were clarified. The molecular mass of the plasmid-encoded protein was identified as about 30 kDa in a minicell system. The native enzyme was estimated to have the molecular mass of 60 kDa by gel filtration. This indicates that the native enzyme may exist as a dimer composed of two identical subunits. The enzyme was reasonably stable in the pH range of 6 to 9, and was labile under high temperature above $50^{\circ}C$. Mercaptoethanol, pCMB, mercury and copper were found to inhibit the enzyme activity. The cytidine analogues of bromo- and iodo-(deoxy)-cytidine were also found to inhibit the activity, while fluorodeoxycytidine and azacytidine were found to activate it. Deoxycytidine, cytidine, ara-C and Methyldeoxycytidine have excellent substrates for the enzyme.