Thermal Stability of a Mercuric Reductase from the Red Sea Atlantis II Hot Brine Environment as Analyzed by Site-Directed Mutagenesis.

ABSTRACT: The lower convective layer (LCL) of the Atlantis II brine pool of the Red Sea is a unique environment in terms of high salinity, temperature, and high concentrations of heavy metals. Mercuric reductase enzymes functional in such extreme conditions could be considered a potential tool in the environmental detoxification of mercurial poisoning and might alleviate ecological hazards in the mining industry. Here, we constructed a mercuric reductase library from Atlantis II, from which we identified genes encoding two thermostable mercuric reductase (MerA) isoforms: one is halophilic (designated ATII-LCL) while the other is not (designated ATII-LCL-NH). The ATII-LCL MerA has a short motif composed of four aspartic acids (4D414-417) and two characteristic signature boxes that played a crucial ro

SUBMITTER: Maged M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6344611 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature