Structural and Biochemical Characterization of an Atypical α-Carbonic Anhydrase from the Tardigrade <i>Ramazzottius varieornatus</i>.

ABSTRACT: The tardigrade Ramazzottius varieornatus exhibits extraordinary resilience to extreme environmental stresses, yet the functional diversity of its proteome remains largely unexplored. In this study, the structural and biochemical characterization of RvCA5, an atypical α-carbonic anhydrase (CA) identified in R. varieornatus, is presented. Expression analysis in E. coli revealed the spontaneous formation of a truncated RvCA5 species, which was confirmed to be unrelated to signal peptide cleavage. RvCA5 exhibited distinct structural features, including extended intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) at both termini. Unlike canonical α-CAs, RvCA5 exhibited negligible CO₂ hydration activity, which was partially enhanced by the removal of the N-terminal IDR, sugge

SUBMITTER: Jo BH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12899995 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature