A novel dNTP pyrophosphatase, Mj0226 from Methanococcus jannaschii, which catalyzes the hydrolysis of nucleoside triphosphates to the monophosphate and PPi, has been characterized. Mj0226 protein catalyzes hydrolysis of two major substrates, dITP and XTP, suggesting that the 6-keto group of hypoxanthine and xanthine is critical for interaction with the protein. Under optimal reaction conditions the kcat /Km value for these substrates was ∼10 000 times that with dATP. Neither endonuclease nor 3′‐exonuclease activities were detected in this protein. Interestingly, dITP was efficiently inserted opposite a dC residue in a DNA template and four dNTPs were also incorporated opposite a hypoxanthine residue in template DNA by DNA polymerase I. Two protein homologs of Mj0226 from Escherichia coli and Archaeoglobus fulgidus were also cloned and purified. These have catalytic activities similar to Mj0226 protein under optimal conditions. The implications of these results have significance in understanding how homologous proteins, including Mj0226, act biologically in many organisms. It seems likely that Mj0226 and its homologs have a major role in preventing mutations caused by incorporation of dITP and XTP formed spontaneously in the nucleotide pool into DNA. This report is the first identification and functional characterization of an enzyme hydrolyzing non-canonical nucleotides, dITP and XTP.
一种新型的dNTP
焦磷酸酶Mj0226来自
甲烷球菌(Methanococcus jannaschii),它催化核苷
三磷酸水解为单
磷酸和PPi。Mj0226蛋白催化两种主要底物dITP和XTP的
水解,表明
次黄嘌呤和
黄嘌呤的6-酮基团对于与蛋白的相互作用至关重要。在最佳反应条件下,这些底物的kcat/Km值约为d
ATP的10000倍。在该蛋白中未检测到内切酶或3'外切酶活性。有趣的是,dITP被有效地插入DNA模板中dC残基的对面,并且四种dNTP也被
DNA聚合酶I插入模板DNA中
次黄嘌呤残基的对面。来自大肠杆菌和古生菌的Mj0226的两个同源蛋白也被克隆和纯化。在最佳条件下,它们的催化活性与Mj0226蛋白相似。这些结果对于理解包括Mj0226在内的同源蛋白在许多
生物中的
生物学作用具有重要意义。Mj0226及其同源蛋白似乎在防止dITP和XTP(在核苷酸池中自发形成)掺入DNA引起的突变方面起着重要作用。该报告首次鉴定了
水解非典型核苷