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Volume 271, Number 36, Issue of September 6, 1996 pp. 22017-22021
©1996 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

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Gene for Aspartate Racemase from the Sulfur-dependent Hyperthermophilic Archaeum, Desulfurococcus Strain SY

(Received for publication, April 23, 1996, and in revised form, June 18, 1996)

Masafumi Yohda , Isao Endo , Yoriko Abe ^§ , Toshiko Ohta ^§ , Toshii Iida ^¶ , Tadashi Maruyama ^¶ and Yasuo Kagawa

From the Biochemical Systems Laboratory, The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research, Wako, Saitama 351-01, the ^§ Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305, the ^¶ Marine Biotechnology Institute, Shimizu, Shizuoka 424, and the  Department of Biochemistry, Jichi Medical School, Tochigi 329-04, Japan

Amino acid racemases are ubiquitous throughout eubacteria. However, no amino acid racemases have yet been found in eukaryotes and archaea. We cloned a gene highly homologous to that for the aspartate racemase from the sulfur-dependent hyperthermophilic archaeum, Desulfurococcus strain SY. The product of the gene showed 35.2% amino acid sequence identity with the aspartate racemase of Streptococcus thermophilus IAM10064, and was also homologous to glutamate racemases around the putative catalytic cysteine residues. The encoded protein was expressed in Escherichia coli. The recombinant protein had amino acid racemizing activity, which was highly specific for aspartate and increased with temperature from 37 °C to 90 °C. Therefore, this was identified as the first hyperthermophilic archaeal amino acid racemase. A little aspartate racemizing activity was also detected in the crude extract of Desulfurococcus strain SY. The function of this aspartate racemase might be the uptake of D-aspartate formed at high temperature or the production of D-aspartate as a cell component. The fact that the amino acid racemases are distributed among both eubacteria and archaea suggests that endogenous D-amino acids in mammals are also synthesized by amino acid racemases.

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