Occurrence of D-amino acids and a pyridoxal 5′-phosphate-dependent aspartate racemase in the acidothermophilic archaeon, Thermoplasma acidophilum

Zhiqun Long, Jen Ai Lee, Taizo Okamoto, Masae Sekine, Noriyuki Nimura, Kazuhiro Imai, Masafumi Yohda, Tadashi Maruyama, Masato Sumi, Naoki Kamo, Akihiko Yamagishi, Tairo Oshima, Hiroshi Homma

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31 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Free D-amino acid content in some archaea was investigated and D-forms of several amino acids were found in them. In the acidothermophilic archaeon, Thermoplasma acidophilum, the proportion of D-aspartate (D-Asp) to total Asp was as high as 39.7%. Crude extracts of Thermoplasma acidophilum had Asp-specific racemase activity that was pyridoxal 5′-phosphate (PLP)-dependent. The relative insensitivity to a SH-modifying reagent distinguished this activity from those of the PLP-independent Asp racemases found in other hyperthermophilic archaea (Matsumoto, M., et al., J. Bacteriol. 181, 6560-6563 1999). Thus, high levels of D-Asp should be produced by a new type(s) of Asp-specific racemase in Thermoplasma acidophilum, although the function of D-Asp in this archaeon remains unknown.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)317-321
Number of pages5
JournalBiochemical and Biophysical Research Communications
Volume281
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2001

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biophysics
  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology

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