• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.393-397
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• 1988

The adenylate kinase was purified from an extreme thermophile by adenosine-pentaphospho-adenosine elution from phosphocellulose column. The molecular weight was estimated to be 22,000 by SDS-PAGE and gel filtration. The optimum temperature of the enzyme activity was 8$0^{\circ}C$ and the activation energy was given as 22.4 kcal/mole. The enzyme even showed full activity after incubation at 9$0^{\circ}C$ or in 6M guanidine-HCI at 3$0^{\circ}C$ and retained 75% of its original activity even after 1 hour at 10$0^{\circ}C$. The Michaelis constants of the enzymes for AMP, ADP, and ATP were 0.01mM, 0.017mM and 0.067mM, respectively.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.27-36
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• 2007

The hypothetical protein TTC0263 of Thermus thermophilus HB27 is a thermophilic tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR)-containing protein. In the present study, the TPR region (residues 26-230) was resolved at $2.5{\AA}$ with R-factors of $R/R_{free}$ = 23.6%/28.6% $R/R_{free}=23.6%/28.6%$. TTC0263 consists of 11 helices that form five TPR units. Uniquely, it contains one atypical "extended" TPR (eTPR) unit. This comprises extended helical residues near the loop region of TTC0263, such that the helical length of eTPR is longer than that of the canonical TPR sequence. In addition, the hybrid TPR domain of TTC0263 possesses oligomer-forming characteristics. TPR domains are generally involved in forming multi-subunit complexes by interacting with each other or with other subunit proteins. The dynamic structure of TTC0263 described here goes some way to explaining how TPR domains mediate the formation of multi-subunit complexes.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.245-249
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• 2014

Among dozens of DNA polymerases cloned from thermophilic bacteria, Taq DNA polymerase from Thermus aquaticus has been most frequently used in polymerase chain reaction (PCR) that is being applied to gene cloning, DNA sequencing, gene expression analysis, and detection of infectious and genetic diseases. Since native Taq DNA polymerase is expressed at low level in T. aquaticus, recombinant Escherichia coli system was used to produce Taq DNA polymerase in a large amount. Taq DNA polymerase was expressed as a soluble form under the control of tac promoter in E. coli, and purified by heat treatment and ion exchange chromatographies. The purified Taq DNA polymerase was nearly homogeneous and exhibited a similar DNA amplification activity with a commercial Taq DNA polymerase.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.969-975
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• 2003

Two conserved amino acid residues in the extra sugar-binding space near the catalytic site of Thermus maltogenic amylase (ThMA) were analyzed for their role in the hydrolysis and transglycosylation activity of the enzyme. Site-directed mutagenesis was carried out by replacing N33l with a lysine (N331K), E332 with a histidine (E332H), or by replacing both residues at the same time (N331K/E332H). The measured $K_m$ values indicated that affinities toward all substrates tested, including starch, pullulan, ${\beta}-cyclomaltodextrin$, and acarbose, were lower in all the mutants compared to that of wild-type ThMA, leading to reduced hydrolysis activity. In addition, the lower ratio of transglycosylation to hydrolysis in the mutants compared to that in the wild-type ThMA indicated that these mutants preferred hydrolysis to the transglycosylation reaction. These results demonstrated that the conserved dipeptide at 331 and 332 of ThMA is directly involved in the formation and accumulation of transfer products by accommodating acceptor sugar molecules.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.10
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• pp.1201-1205
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• 2009

Corn starches with different amylose contents were enzymatically modified using Thermus aquaticus 4-$\alpha$-glucanotransferase ($TA{\alpha}GTase$). Upon the enzyme treatment, the chain-length distributions of isoamylolytically debranched products became broader [degree of polymerization (DP): 3-40] than those of untreated corn starches. In addition, a variety of cycloamyloses (CAs) with different sizes were formed by the glucanotransfer activity of $TA{\alpha}GTase$. CAs with DP 5-40 were detectable in all of the $TA{\alpha}GTase$-treated corn starches. From the results of high-performance anion-exchange chromatography and high-performance size-exclusion chromatography analyses, it was suggested that the amount of CAs produced by the enzyme treatment increased as the amylose content of the starches increased. Thus, we concluded that the extent of modification of starch molecules was enhanced in proportion to amylose content by the transfer activity of $TA{\alpha}GTase$. This finding could be useful for developing an efficient process of CA production using this enzyme.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.301-305
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• 2002

The gene (ppaT) encoding Thermus caldophilus GK24 pyrophosphatase (Tca pyrophosphatase) was cloned and sequenced. The gene was found to contain an open reading frame encoding 175 amino acids with a calculated mass of 19,155 Da. The ppaT gene was expressed under the control of the tac promoter in Escherichia coli. The recombinant Tca pyrophosphatase was purified 21.4-fold with $56\%$ yield and specific activity of 25.7 U $mg^-1$, following a combination of heating (to denature the E. coli proteins) and one step of DEAE-Sephacel column chromatography. The native enzyme was found to have an approximate molecular mass of 110,000 Da and consisted of six subunits. The enzyme exhibited maximal activity at pH of 8.0-8.5 and was stable at $80-90^{\circ}C$. A divalent cation was absolutely required for the enzyme activity, with $Mg^2+$. being the most effective.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.638-642
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• 2000

A ${\beta}-glycosidase$ enzyme with $\beta$-D-fucosidase, ${\beta}-D-galactosidase$, and $\beta$-D-glucosidase activities has been purified from Thermus caldophilus GK24. The enzyme was monomeric with a molecular mass of 49 kDa, as evidenced by SDS-PAGE. The $K_m$ values for p-nitrophenyl ${\beta}-D-fucopyranoside$ (p-NPFuc), p-nitrophenyl ${\beta}-D-galactopyranoside$ (p-NPGal), and p-nitrophenyl ${\beta}-D-glucopyranoside$ (p-NPGlu) were 0.23 mM, 6.25 mM, and 0.28 mM, respectively. The enzyme showed optimal pH ranging between 5.5-6.5 and maximum temperature in the range of $85-90^{\circ}C$ for all the above mentioned activities. The half-life of the enzyme in sodium phosphate buffer (pH 6.0) at $80^{\circ}C$ was approximately 7 h. The p-NPGal hydrolyzing activity of Tca ${\beta}-glycosidase$ was strongly activated by L-histidine, while the p-NPFuc and p-NPGlu hydrolyzing activities of Tca ${\beta}-glycosidase$ were not affected at all by the amino acid. These results suggest differences in the conformation or in the reactive residues at the active site of Tca ${\beta}-glycosidase$.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.50-54
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• 2003

Genome of an extreme thermophile, Thermus caldophilus GK24 has been analyzed to construct the genomic map. The genomic DNAs encapsulated in agarose gel were digested with SspI, EcoRI, SpeI, and HpaI restriction endonucleases, and then the resulting genomic DNA fragments were analyzed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Its restriction map has been constructed by analyzing sizes of the restriction fragments obtained from both complete and partial digestions. The circular form of its genome was composed of about 1.98 Mbp and a megaplasmid. The genomic loci for the genes of xylose isomerase, thioredoxin, tRNA-16S rRNA, 23S rRNA, L5 ribosomal protein, ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase, DNA-ligase, and Tca DNA polymerase were determined by both Southern hybridization and PCR.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.298-301
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• 2006

A gene(GeneBank AF 135796) coding for a trehalose synthase from Thermus caldophilus GK24 was cloned into Escherichia coli K12 using five vector systems. The constitutive expression system(pHCETS) which shows the highest trehalose synthase activity from flask culture of recombinant E. coli was selected for the production of trehalose from maltose. For the shake flask culture, the final dry cell weight was 0.9 g/L and the trehalose synthase activity was 25 U/mL. Fed-batch culture of recombinant E. coli harboring plasmid pHCETS which uses the glycerolas a carbon source was performed in jar fermentor: the dry cell weight of 20 g/L and the trehalose synthase activity of 13.7 U/mL were attained in 48 h.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.274-283
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• 1988

Aqualysin I is an alkaline serine protease which is secretet into the culture medium by Thermus aquaticus YT-1, an extreme thermophile. Aqualysin I was purified, and its partial amino acid sequence was determined. The gene encoding aqualysin I was cloned into E. coli using synthetic oligodeoxyribonucleotides as hybridization probes. The nucleotide sequence of the cloned DNA was determined. The primary structure of aqualysin I, deduced from the nucleotide sequenc, agreed with the determid amino acid sequences, including the $NH_2-$ and COOH terminal sequence of the tryptides derived from aqualysin I. Aqualysin I comprised 281 amino acid residues and its molecular mass was determined to be 28350. On alignment of the whole amino acid sequence, aqualysin I showed high sequence homology with the subtilisin type serine protease, and 43% identity with proteinase K, 37-30% with subtilisins and 34% with thermitase. Extremely high sequence identity was observed in the regions containing the active-site residues, corresponding to Asp32, His64 and Ser221 of subtilisin BPN'. Aqualysin I contains two disulfide bonds, Cys67-Cys99 and Cys163-Cys194, and these disulfide bonds seem to contribute to the heat stability of the enzyme. The determined positions of the twe disulfide bonds of aqualysin I agreed with those predicted previously on the basis of computer graphics of the crystallographic data for subtilisin BPN'. Therefore, these findings sugests that the three-dimensional structure of aqualysin I is similar to that of subtilisin BPN' Aqualysin I is produced as a lage precursor, which contains $NH_2-$ and COOH- terminal portions besides the mature protease sequence.