Premium
Salt‐Dependent Protein Splicing of the Intein in the Haloquadratum walsbyi DNA Polymerase
Author(s) -
Reidy Deirdre Ann
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.31.1_supplement.606.12
Subject(s) - intein , rna splicing , protein splicing , homing endonuclease , biology , halobacterium salinarum , polymerase , genetics , biochemistry , dna , microbiology and biotechnology , endonuclease , archaea , gene , rna
Protein splicing is a post‐translational process by which an intervening polypeptide, or intein, can excise itself and ligate the flanking polypeptides, or exteins. Two extreme halophilic archaea, Halobacterium salinarum ( Hsa ) and Haloquadratum walsbyi ( Hwa ), have proteins with inteins. Previous work in the lab demonstrated that splicing of the Hsa DNA Polymerase II (Polll) intein is salt‐dependent. We attempted to compare the homologous PolII‐a intein in Hwa . However, the protein was insoluble when expressed in two different strains of E. coli and with addition of salt. Currently, we are attempting to increase the solubility of Hwa PolII‐a in order to compare its splicing activity to that of Hsa PolII. We are also interested in the activity of a second Hwa PolII intein, PolII‐b. Additionally, we are interested in studying the influence of salt on the homing endonuclease activities of the Hwa PolII‐a and PolII‐b inteins. Support or Funding Information This work was supported by the National Science Foundation (grants MCB‐1244089 and MCB‐1517138 to KVM), the Dreyfus Foundation (KVM), and William F. McCall Jr. (DAR).