Skip Navigation



PEDS Advance Access published online on February 13, 2004

Protein Engineering Design and Selection, doi:10.1093/protein/gzh022
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
17/2/191    most recent
gzh022v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Bageshwar, U. K.
Right arrow Articles by Zamir, A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Bageshwar, U. K.
Right arrow Articles by Zamir, A.
Social Bookmarking
 Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Received December 30, 2003
Accepted January 27, 2004
Oxford University Press

Article

Natural protein engineering: a uniquely salt-tolerant, but not halophilic, {alpha}-type carbonic anhydrase from algae proliferating in low- to hyper-saline environments

Umesh K. Bageshwar 1, Lakshmanane Premkumar 2, Irena Gokhman 3, Tatyana Savchenko 3, Joel L. Sussman 4*, and Ada Zamir 3

1 Department of Biological Chemistry, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Genetics, Reynolds Building, Texas A and M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
2 Departments of Biological Chemistry and Structural Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
3 Department of Biological Chemistry, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
4 Department Structural Biolog, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: Joel.Sussman{at}weizmann.ac.il.


   Abstract

Dunaliella salina is a unicellular green alga thriving in environments ranging from fresh water to hyper-saline lakes, such as the Dead Sea. An unusual, internally-duplicated, 60 kDa {alpha}-type carbonic anhydrase (dCA I), located on the surface of this alga is expected to function over a broad range of salinities. It thus would differ from other carbonic anhydrases that lose activity already at low salinities, as well as from halophilic proteins that require high salinities for conformational stability. Enzymatic analyses indeed indicated that dCA I retained activity at salt concentrations ranging from low salt to at least 1.5 M NaCl or KCl for CO2 hydration, 2.0 M NaCl for esterase activity and 0.5 M for bicarbonate dehydration. Although measurements at higher salinities were constrained by the interference of salt in the respective assayed reactions, activity was noticeable even at 4.0 M NaCl. Comparisons of the internally-duplicated dCA I to single domain derivatives indicated that inter-domain interactions played a decisive role in the stability, activity, salt-tolerance and pH-responses of dCA I. Thus, dCA I is a uniquely salt-tolerant protein, retaining an active conformation over a large range of salinities and as a Zn-metalloenzyme, largely immune to the specific inhibitory effects of anions. Its unique features make dCA I a useful model to understand the physico-chemical basis of halotolerance and protein-salt interactions in general.

Keywords: Carbonic anhydrase activity/Dunaliella salina/halophilic proteins/protein molecular adaptation/salt-tolerant protein


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
Mol. Cell. ProteomicsHome page
A. Katz, P. Waridel, A. Shevchenko, and U. Pick
Salt-induced Changes in the Plasma Membrane Proteome of the Halotolerant Alga Dunaliella salina as Revealed by Blue Native Gel Electrophoresis and Nano-LC-MS/MS Analysis
Mol. Cell. Proteomics, September 1, 2007; 6(9): 1459 - 1472.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAHome page
L. Premkumar, H. M. Greenblatt, U. K. Bageshwar, T. Savchenko, I. Gokhman, J. L. Sussman, and A. Zamir
Three-dimensional structure of a halotolerant algal carbonic anhydrase predicts halotolerance of a mammalian homolog
PNAS, May 24, 2005; 102(21): 7493 - 7498.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Plant Physiol.Home page
A. J. Liska, A. Shevchenko, U. Pick, and A. Katz
Enhanced Photosynthesis and Redox Energy Production Contribute to Salinity Tolerance in Dunaliella as Revealed by Homology-Based Proteomics
Plant Physiology, September 1, 2004; 136(1): 2806 - 2817.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]



Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.