Molecular characterization of the alpha-glucosidase gene (malA) from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus.

ABSTRACT: Acidic hot springs are colonized by a diversity of hyperthermophilic organisms requiring extremes of temperature and pH for growth. To clarify how carbohydrates are consumed in such locations, the structural gene (malA) encoding the major soluble alpha-glucosidase (maltase) and flanking sequences from Sulfolobus solfataricus were cloned and characterized. This is the first report of an alpha-glucosidase gene from the archaeal domain. malA is 2,083 bp and encodes a protein of 693 amino acids with a calculated mass of 80.5 kDa. It is flanked on the 5' side by an unusual 1-kb intergenic region. Northern blot analysis of the malA region identified transcripts for malA and an upstream open reading frame located 5' to the 1-kb intergenic region. The malA transcription start site was located by p

SUBMITTER: Rolfsmeier M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC107019 | biostudies-literature | 1998 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature