Project description:BackgroundAlkaline phosphatase (AP) catalyzes the hydrolytic cleavage of phosphate monoesters under alkaline conditions and plays important roles in microbial ecology and molecular biology applications. Here, we report on the first isolation and biochemical characterization of a thermolabile AP from a metagenome.ResultsThe gene encoding a novel AP was isolated from a metagenomic library constructed with ocean-tidal flat sediments from the west coast of Korea. The metagenome-derived AP (mAP) gene composed of 1,824 nucleotides encodes a polypeptide with a calculated molecular mass of 64 kDa. The deduced amino acid sequence of mAP showed a high degree of similarity to other members of the AP family. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the mAP is shown to be a member of a recently identified family of PhoX that is distinct from the well-studied classical PhoA family. When the open reading frame encoding mAP was cloned and expressed in recombinant Escherichia coli, the mature mAP was secreted to the periplasm and lacks an 81-amino-acid N-terminal Tat signal peptide. Mature mAP was purified to homogeneity as a monomeric enzyme with a molecular mass of 56 kDa. The purified mAP displayed typical features of a psychrophilic enzyme: high catalytic activity at low temperature and a remarkable thermal instability. The optimal temperature for the enzymatic activity of mAP was 37°C and complete thermal inactivation of the enzyme was observed at 65°C within 15 min. mAP was activated by Ca(2+) and exhibited maximal activity at pH 9.0. Except for phytic acid and glucose 1-phosphate, mAP showed phosphatase activity against various phosphorylated substrates indicating that it had low substrate specificity. In addition, the mAP was able to remove terminal phosphates from cohesive and blunt ends of linearized plasmid DNA, exhibiting comparable efficiency to commercially available APs that have been used in molecular biology.ConclusionsThe presented mAP enzyme is the first thermolabile AP found in cold-adapted marine metagenomes and may be useful for efficient dephosphorylation of linearized DNA.
Project description:Background & aim: Flat adenomas form a specific phenotype of colorectal adenomas that has been associated with more severe molecular changes and consequently a more aggressive clinical behavior compared to their polypoid counterparts. In the present study we set out to compare one of the molecular changes most explicitly associated with adenoma to carcinoma progression, i.e. chromosomal instability, between flat and polypoid colorectal adenomas. Methods: Consecutive series of 83 flat and 35 polypoid adenomas were analyzed for DNA copy number changes using a high resolution arrayCGH platform as well as for mutations in the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene. Gene ontology on the genes located on the significantly different regions was performed. Results: Overall, flat adenomas show similar DNA copy number changes as polypoid adenomas. Patterns of DNA copy number changes differed between the two phenotypes with significantly more frequently loss of 5q14.3 and 5q15-q23.3 in flat adenomas, while loss of 1p36.32-p35.3, 10q25.2-q25.3, 17p12 and chromosome 18 were more frequent in polypoid adenomas. The 5q15-q23.3 region harbors the APC locus, therefore mutation status of APC was investigated, showing significantly less mutations in flat adenomas. Pathway analysis and datamining linked the 5q region to inflammation. Conclusion: These results provide evidence that flat and polypoid adenomas have partly overlapping DNA copy number changes, while alterations more specific to flat adenomas have associations with inflammation. Loss of 5q has been associated with aggressive behavior and this could serve as an explanation for a more aggressive clinical behavior of flat lesions.