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The α-l-fucosidase from Sulfolobus solfataricus

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Abstract

Glycoside hydrolases form hyperthermophilic archaea are interesting model systems for the study of catalysis at high temperatures and, at the moment, their detailed enzymological characterization is the only approach to define their role in vivo. Family 29 of glycoside hydrolases classification groups α-l-fucosidases involved in a variety of biological events in Bacteria and Eukarya. In Archaea the first α-l-fucosidase was identified in Sulfolobus solfataricus as interrupted gene expressed by programmed −1 frameshifting. In this review, we describe the identification of the catalytic residues of the archaeal enzyme, by means of the chemical rescue strategy. The intrinsic stability of the hyperthermophilic enzyme allowed the use of this method, which resulted of general applicability for β and α glycoside hydrolases. In addition, the presence in the active site of the archaeal enzyme of a triad of catalytic residues is a rather uncommon feature among the glycoside hydrolases and suggested that in family 29 slightly different catalytic machineries coexist.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by MIUR project “Folding di proteine: l’altra metà del codice genetico” RBAU015B47_006. The IBP-CNR belongs to the Centro Regionale di Competenza in Applicazioni Tecnologico-Industriali di Biomolecole e Biosistemi.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Protein Biochemistry, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via P. Castellino 111, 80131, Naples, Italy

    Beatrice Cobucci-Ponzano, Fiorella Conte, Mosè Rossi & Marco Moracci

  2. Dipartimento di Biologia Strutturale e Funzionale, Università di Napoli “Federico II”, Complesso Universitario di Monte S. Angelo, Via Cinthia 4, 80126, Naples, Italy

    Mosè Rossi

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  1. Beatrice Cobucci-Ponzano
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  2. Fiorella Conte
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  3. Mosè Rossi
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  4. Marco Moracci
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Correspondence to Beatrice Cobucci-Ponzano.

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Communicated by D.A. Cowan.

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Cobucci-Ponzano, B., Conte, F., Rossi, M. et al. The α-l-fucosidase from Sulfolobus solfataricus . Extremophiles 12, 61–68 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00792-007-0105-y

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