Extremely thermostable D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from the eubacterium Thermotoga maritima

D-Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) from Thermotoga maritima, a hyperthermophilic eubacterium, has been isolated in pure crystalline form. The enzyme is a homotetramer with a subunit molecular mass of 37 kDa. The sedimentation coefficient of the native enzyme is 7.3 X 10(-13)s, the isoelectric point is 4.6, and the specific absorption coefficient A1%, 1cm 280nm = 8.4. The enzyme shows extreme thermal stability: differential scanning calorimetry yields a transition temperature (Tm) of 109 degrees C for the NAD-saturated enzyme. Thermal deactivation occurs at T greater than 90 degrees C. The physicochemical characteristics of the enzyme suggest that its gross structure must be very similar to the structure of GAPDHs from mesophilic sources. The amino acid composition does not confirm the known "traffic rules" of thermal adaptation, apart from the Lys----Arg exchange. One reactive and at least two buried SH groups can be titrated with 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoate). The highly reactive SH group is probably the active-site cysteine residue common to all known GAPDHs. The activation energy of the glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate oxidation reaction decreases with increasing temperature. This functional behavior can be correlated with the temperature-dependent changes of both the intrinsic fluorescence and the near-UV circular dichroism; both indicate a temperature-dependent structural reorganization of the enzyme. Hydrogen-deuterium exchange reveals significantly increased rigidity of the thermophilic enzyme if compared to mesophilic GAPDHs at 25 degrees C, thus indicating that the conformational flexibility is similar at the corresponding physiological temperatures.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Exopolygalacturonate lyase from Thermotoga maritima: cloning,characterization and organic synthesis application

A new exopolygalacturonate lyase (Pel) gene of the hyperthermophilic bacterium Thermotoga maritima was cloned and overexpressed in Escherichia coli cells. A 42 kDa monomeric Pel was shown to undergo N-terminal processing by cleavage at a putative site between alanine and serine residues. The enzyme catalyzes selectively a beta-4,5 elimination at the third galacturonic unit from the reducing end of polygalacturonic acid by producing (4-deoxy-alpha-L-threo-hex-4-enopyranosyluronic acid)-(1-->4)-(alpha-D-galactopyranosyluronic acid)-(1-->4)-alpha-D-galactopyranuronic acid (3) with a 60% yield. The optimum activity of the enzyme was detected at pH 9.5 and T> or=95 degrees C. The highly thermostable enzyme constitutes a useful catalyst for a simplified synthesis of 4,5-unsaturated trigalacturonic acid 3, a trisaccharide which is extremely difficult to obtain via chemical synthesis.     

Characterization of a tetrameric inositol monophosphatase from the hyperthermophilic bacterium Thermotoga maritima.

Inositol monophosphatase (I-1-Pase) catalyzes the dephosphorylation step in the de novo biosynthetic pathway of inositol and is crucial for all inositol-dependent processes. An extremely heat-stable tetrameric form of I-1-Pase from the hyperthermophilic bacterium Thermotoga maritima was overexpressed in Escherichia coli. In addition to its different quaternary structure (all other known I-1-Pases are dimers), this enzyme displayed a 20-fold higher rate of hydrolysis of D-inositol 1-phosphate than of the L isomer. The homogeneous recombinant T. maritima I-1-Pase (containing 256 amino acids with a subunit molecular mass of 28 kDa) possessed an unusually high V(max) (442 micromol min(-1) mg(-1)) that was much higher than the V(max) of the same enzyme from another hyperthermophile, Methanococcus jannaschii. Although T. maritima is a eubacterium, its I-1-Pase is more similar to archaeal I-1-Pases than to the other known bacterial or mammalian I-1-Pases with respect to substrate specificity, Li(+) inhibition, inhibition by high Mg(2+) concentrations, metal ion activation, heat stability, and activation energy. Possible reasons for the observed kinetic differences are discussed based on an active site sequence alignment of the human and T. maritima I-1-Pases.     

Glutamate dehydrogenase from the hyperthermophilic bacterium Thermotoga maritima: molecular characterization and phylogenetic implications

The hyperthermophilic bacterium Thermotoga maritima, which grows at up to 90°C, contains an L-glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH). Activity of this enzyme could be detected in T. maritima crude extracts, and appeared to be associated with a 47-kDa protein which cross-reacted with antibodies against purified GDH from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus woesei. The single-copy T. maritima gdh gene was cloned by complementation in a glutamate auxotrophic Escherichia coli strain. The nucleotide sequence of the gdh gene predicts a 416-residue protein with a calculated molecular weight of 45852. The gdh gene was inserted in an expression vector and expressed in E. coli as an active enzyme. The T. maritima GDH was purified to homogeneity. The NH₂-terminal sequence of the purified enzyme was PEKSLYEMAVEQ, which is identical to positions 2–13 of the peptide sequence derived from the gdh gene. The purified native enzyme has a size of 265 kDa and a subunit size of 47 kDa, indicating that GDH is a homohexamer. Maximum activity of the enzyme was measured at 75°C and the pH optima are 8.3 and 8.8 for the anabolic and catabolic reaction, respectively. The enzyme was found to be very stable at 80°C, but appeared to lose activity quickly at higher temperatures. The T. maritima GDH shows the highest rate of activity with NADH (V _max of 172U/mg protein), but also utilizes NADPH (V _max of 12U/mg protein). Sequence comparisons showed that the T. maritima GDH is a member of the family II of hexameric GDHs which includes all the GDHs isolated so far from hyperthermophiles. Remarkably, phylogenetic analysis positions all these hyperthermophilic GDHs in the middle of the GDH family II tree, with the bacterial T. maritima GDH located between that of halophilic and thermophilic euryarchaeota. Received: 15 July 1996 / Accepted: 12 October 1996     

Heterologous expression and characterization of a recombinant thermophilic arylsulfatase from Thermotoga maritima

Production of low sulfated agar or agarose from agar or agaropectins by enzymatic hydrolysis has advantages but a high melting temperature is needed. The arylsulfatase gene from thermophilic Thermotoga maritima was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli W3110 with pCol-MICT as the vector. The gene was comprised of 1,782 bp and encoded a protein of 593 amino acids with a molecular weight of 65 kDa. The recombinant arylsulfatase was partially purified by heat treatment (70°C, 30 min) and characterized. The enzyme was prepared with a total protein content of 2.4 mg and a specific activity of 20.63 U/mg. Optimal temperature and pH of the enzyme were 80°C and 7.0, respectively, for hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl sulfate and sulfate content of agar was diminished to 40% after a 12 h treatment at that condition. Enhanced electrophoretic movement of DNA was observed in enzymetreated agar gel compared to that in a non-treated agar gel. These results suggest that thermophilic arylsulfatase expressed in E. coli could be useful for producing a low sulfated agar and electrophoretic grade agarose.     

Characterization of the fructose 1,6-bisphosphate-activated, L(+)-lactate dehydrogenase from Thermoanaerobacter ethanolicus.

The L(+)-lactate dehydrogenase from Thermoanaerobacter ethanolicus wt was purified to a final specific activity of 598 mumol pyruvate reduced per min per mg of protein. The specific activity of the pure enzyme with L(+)-lactate was 0.79 units per mg of protein. The M(r) of the native enzyme was 134,000 containing a single subunit type of M(r) 33,500 indicating an apparent tetrameric structure. The L(+)-lactate dehydrogenase was activated by fructose 1,6-bisphosphate in a cooperative manner affecting Vmax and Km values. The activity of the enzyme was also effected by pH, pyruvate and NADH. The Km for NADH at pH 6.0 was 0.05 mM and the Vmax for pyruvate reduction at pH 6.0 was 1082 units per mg in the presence of 1 mM fructose 1,6-bisphosphate. The enzyme was inhibited by NADPH, displaying an uncompetitive pattern. This pattern indicated that NADPH was a negative modifier of the enzyme. The role of L(+)-lactate dehydrogenase in controlling the end products of fermentation is discussed.     

Glutamate kinase from Thermotoga maritima: characterization of a thermophilic enzyme for proline biosynthesis

Glutamate kinase (GK), an enzyme involved in osmoprotection in plants and microorganisms, catalyses the first and controlling step of proline biosynthesis. The proB gene encoding GK was cloned from the hyperthermophilic bacterium Thermotoga maritima and overexpressed in Escherichia coli, and the resulting protein was purified to homogeneity in three simple steps. T. maritima GK behaved as a tetramer, showing maximal activity at 83°C, and was inhibited by ADP and proline. Although T. maritima GK exhibited high amino acid similarity to the mesophilic E. coli GK, it was less dependent of Mg ions and was not aggregated in the presence of proline. Moreover, it displayed a greater thermostability and higher catalytic efficiency than its mesophilic counterpart at elevated temperatures.     

Structural investigations of the highly flexible recombinant ribosomal protein L12 from Thermotoga maritima

Ribosomal protein L7/L12, the only multicopy component of the ribosome, is involved in translation factor binding and in the ribosomal GTPase center. The gene for L7/L12 from Thermotoga maritima was cloned and the protein expressed at high levels in Escherichia coli. Purification of L7/L12 was achieved under non-denaturing conditions via heat treatment and two chromatographic steps. Circular dichroism melting profiles were monitored at 222 nm, showing the melting temperature of the protein at pH 7.5 around 110 degrees C, compared to approximately 60 degrees C for the highly homologous Escherichia coli protein. The unfolding was reversible and renaturation closely followed the path of the thermal melting. Dynamic light scattering, gel filtration chromatography, and crosslinking experiments suggested that under physiological buffer conditions Thermotoga maritima L7/L12 exists as a tetramer. The protein was crystallized under two conditions, yielding an orthorhombic (C222(1)) and a cubic (12(1)3) space group with an estimated two and three to four L7/L12 molecules per asymmetric unit, respectively. The crystals contained the full-length protein, and cryogenic buffers were developed which improved the mosaic spreads and the resolution limits. For the structure solution isoleucine was mutated to methionine at two separate positions, the mutant forms expressed as selenomethionine variants and crystallized.     

Purification and characterization of two extremely thermostable enzymes, phosphate acetyltransferase and acetate kinase, from the hyperthermophilic eubacterium Thermotoga maritima

Phosphate acetyltransferase (PTA) and acetate kinase (AK) of the hyperthermophilic eubacterium Thermotoga maritima have been purified 1,500- and 250-fold, respectively, to apparent homogeneity. PTA had an apparent molecular mass of 170 kDa and was composed of one subunit with a molecular mass of 34 kDa, suggesting a homotetramer (alpha4) structure. The N-terminal amino acid sequence showed significant identity to that of phosphate butyryltransferases from Clostridium acetobutylicum rather than to those of known phosphate acetyltransferases. The kinetic constants of the reversible enzyme reaction (acetyl-CoA + Pi -->/<-- acetyl phosphate + CoA) were determined at the pH optimum of pH 6.5. The apparent Km values for acetyl-CoA, Pi, acetyl phosphate, and coenzyme A (CoA) were 23, 110, 24, and 30 microM, respectively; the apparent Vmax values (at 55 degrees C) were 260 U/mg (acetyl phosphate formation) and 570 U/mg (acetyl-CoA formation). In addition to acetyl-CoA (100%), the enzyme accepted propionyl-CoA (60%) and butyryl-CoA (30%). The enzyme had a temperature optimum at 90 degrees C and was not inactivated by heat upon incubation at 80 degrees C for more than 2 h. AK had an apparent molecular mass of 90 kDa and consisted of one 44-kDa subunit, indicating a homodimer (alpha2) structure. The N-terminal amino acid sequence showed significant similarity to those of all known acetate kinases from eubacteria as well that of the archaeon Methanosarcina thermophila. The kinetic constants of the reversible enzyme reaction (acetyl phosphate + ADP -->/<-- acetate + ATP) were determined at the pH optimum of pH 7.0. The apparent Km values for acetyl phosphate, ADP, acetate, and ATP were 0.44, 3, 40, and 0.7 mM, respectively; the apparent Vmax values (at 50 degrees C) were 2,600 U/mg (acetate formation) and 1,800 U/mg (acetyl phosphate formation). AK phosphorylated propionate (54%) in addition to acetate (100%) and used GTP (100%), ITP (163%), UTP (56%), and CTP (21%) as phosphoryl donors in addition to ATP (100%). Divalent cations were required for activity, with Mn2+ and Mg2+ being most effective. The enzyme had a temperature optimum at 90 degrees C and was stabilized against heat inactivation by salts. In the presence of (NH4)2SO4 (1 M), which was most effective, the enzyme did not lose activity upon incubation at 100 degrees C for 3 h. The temperature optimum at 90 degrees C and the high thermostability of both PTA and AK are in accordance with their physiological function under hyperthermophilic conditions.     

Thermal unfolding and conformational stability of the recombinant domain II of glutamate dehydrogenase from the hyperthermophile Thermotoga maritima

Domain II (residues 189-338, M(r) = 16 222) of glutamate dehydrogenase from the hyperthermophilic bacterium Thermotoga maritima was used as a model system to study reversible unfolding thermodynamics of this hyperthermostable enzyme. The protein was produced in large quantities in E.COLI: using a T7 expression system. It was shown that the recombinant domain is monomeric in solution and that it comprises secondary structural elements similar to those observed in the crystal structure of the hexameric enzyme.The recombinant domain is thermostable and undergoes reversible and cooperative thermal unfolding in the pH range 5.90-8.00 with melting temperatures between 75.1 and 68.0 degrees C. Thermal unfolding of the protein was studied using differential scanning calorimetry and circular dichroism spectroscopy. Both methods yielded comparable values. The analysis revealed an unfolding enthalpy at 70 degrees C of 70.2 +/- 4.0 kcal/mol and a DeltaC(p) value of 1.4 +/- 0.3 kcal/mol K. Chemical unfolding of the recombinant domain resulted in m values of 3.36 +/- 0.10 kcal/mol M for unfolding in guanidinium chloride and 1.46 +/- 0.04 kcal/mol M in urea. The thermodynamic parameters for thermal and chemical unfolding equilibria indicate that domain II from T.MARITIMA: glutamate dehydrogenase is a thermostable protein with a DeltaG(max) of 3.70 kcal/mol. However, the thermal and chemical stabilities of the domain are lower than those of the hexameric protein, indicating that interdomain interactions must play a significant role in the stabilization of T. MARITIMA: domain II glutamate dehydrogenase.     

Purification and characterization of a highly thermostable glucose isomerase produced by the extremely thermophilic eubacterium, Thermotoga maritima

Thermotoga maritima, among the most thermophilic eubacteria currently known, produces glucose isomerase when grow in the presence of xylose. The purified enzyme is a homotetramer with submit molecular Wight of about 45,000. It has a number of features in common with previously described glucose isomerases-pH optimum of 6.5 to 7.5, presence of activesite histidine, requirement for metal cations such as Co(2+) and Mg(2+), and preference for xylose as substrate. In addition, it has significant sequence/structural homology with other glucose isomerases, as shown by both N-terminal sequencing and immunological crossreactivity. The T. maritima enzyme is distinguished by its extreme thermostability-a temperature optimum of 105 to 110 degrees C, and an estimated half-life of 10 minutes at 120 degrees C, pH 7.0. The high degree of thermostability, coupled with a neutral to slightly acid pH optimum, reveal this enzyme to be a promising candidate for improvement of the industrial glucose isomerization process (c) 1993 Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Octameric enolase from the hyperthermophilic bacterium Thermotoga maritima: purification, characterization, and image processing.

Enolase (2-phospho-D-glycerate hydrolase; EC 4.2.1.11) from the hyperthermophilic bacterium Thermotoga maritima was purified to homogeneity. The N-terminal 25 amino acids of the enzyme reveal a high degree of similarity to enolases from other sources. As shown by sedimentation analysis and gel-permeation chromatography, the enzyme is a 345-kDa homoctamer with a subunit molecular mass of 48 +/- 5 kDa. Electron microscopy and image processing yield ring-shaped particles with a diameter of 17 nm and fourfold symmetry. Averaging of the aligned particles proves the enzyme to be a tetramer of dimers. The enzyme requires divalent cations in the activity assay, Mg2+ being most effective. The optimum temperature for catalysis is 90 degrees C, the temperature dependence yields a nonlinear Arrhenius profile with limiting activation energies of 75 kJ mol-1 and 43 kJ mol-1 at temperatures below and above 45 degrees C. The pH optimum of the enzyme lies between 7 and 8. The apparent Km values for 2-phospho-D-glycerate and Mg2+ at 75 degrees C are 0.07 mM and 0.03 mM; with increasing temperature, they are decreased by factors 2 and 30, respectively. Fluoride and phosphate cause competitive inhibition with a Ki of 0.14 mM. The enzyme shows high intrinsic thermal stability, with a thermal transition at 90 and 94 degrees C in the absence and in the presence of Mg2+.     

ATP-dependent 6-phosphofructokinase from the hyperthermophilic bacterium Thermotoga maritima: characterization of an extremely thermophilic, allosterically regulated enzyme

The ATP-dependent 6-phosphofructokinase (ATP-PFK) of the hyperthermophilic bacterium Thermotoga maritimawas purified 730-fold to homogeneity. The enzyme is a 140-kDa homotetramer composed of 34 kDa subunits. Kinetic constants were determined for all substrates in both reaction directions at pH 7 and at 75 degrees C. Rate dependence (forward reaction) on fructose 6-phosphate (F-6-P) showed sigmoidal kinetics with a half-maximal saturation constant ( S(0.5)) of 0.7 mM and a Hill coefficient of 2.2. The apparent K(m) for ATP was 0.2 mM and the apparent V(max) value was about 360 U/mg. The enzyme also catalyzed in vitro the reverse reaction with an apparent K(m) for fructose 1,6-bisphosphate and ADP of 7.6 mM and 1.4 mM, respectively, and an apparent V(max) of about 13 U/mg. Divalent cations were required for maximal activity; Mg(2+), which was most effective, could partially be replaced by Mn(2+) and Fe(2+). Enzyme activity was allosterically regulated by classical effectors of ATP-PFKs of Eukarya and Bacteria; it was activated by ADP and inhibited by PEP. The enzyme had a temperature optimum of 93 degrees C and showed a significant thermostability up to 100 degrees C. Using the N-terminal amino acid sequence of the subunit, the pfk gene coding for ATP-PFK was identified and functionally overexpressed in Escherichia coli. The purified recombinant ATP-PFK had identical kinetic and allosteric properties as the native enzyme purified from T. maritima. The deduced amino acid sequence showed high sequence similarity to members of the PFK-A family. In accordance with its allosteric properties, ATP-PFK of T. maritima contained the conserved allosteric effector-binding sites for ADP and PEP.     

Stability and reconstitution of D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from the hyperthermophilic eubacterium Thermotoga maritima.

The molecular basis of thermal stability of globular proteins is a highly significant yet unsolved problem. The most promising approach to its solution is the investigation of the structure-function relationship of homologous enzymes from mesophilic and thermophilic sources. In this context, D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase has been the most extensively studied model system. In the present study, the most thermostable homolog isolated so far is described with special emphasis on the stability of the enzyme under varying solvent conditions. D-Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from the hyperthermophilic eubacterium Thermotoga maritima is an intrinsically thermostable enzyme with a thermal transition temperature around 110 degrees C. The amino acid sequence, electrophoresis, and sedimentation analysis prove the enzyme to be a homotetramer with a gross structure similar to its mesophilic counterparts. The enzyme in the absence and in the presence of its coenzyme, NAD+, exhibits no drastic structural differences except for a 3% change in sedimentation velocity reflecting slight alterations in the quaternary structure of the enzyme. At low temperature, in the absence of denaturants, neither "cold denaturation" nor subunit dissociation are detectable. Guanidinium chloride and pH-dependent deactivation precede the decrease in fluorescence emission and ellipticity, suggesting a complex denaturation mechanism. An up to 3-fold activation of the enzyme at low guanidinium concentration may be interpreted in terms of a compensation of the tight packing of the thermophilic enzyme at low temperature. Under destabilizing conditions, e.g. moderate concentrations of chaotropic agents, low temperature favors denaturation. The effect becomes important in reconstitution experiments after preceding guanidinium denaturation; the reactivation yield at low temperature drops to zero, whereas between 35 and 80 degrees C reactivation exceeds 80%. Shifting the temperature from approximately 0 degrees C to greater than or equal to 30 degrees C releases a trapped tetrameric intermediate in a fast reaction. Concentration-dependent reactivation experiments prove renaturation of the enzyme to involve consecutive folding and association steps. Reconstitution at room temperature yields the native protein, in spite of the fact that the temperature of the processes in vitro and in vivo differ by more than 60 degrees C.     

Three forms of thermostable lactose-hydrolase from Thermus sp. IB-21: cloning, expression, and enzyme characterization

Three thermostable lactose-hydrolases, namely, two beta-glycosidases (bglA and bglB) and one beta-galactosidase (bgaA) genes were cloned from the genomic library of Thermus sp. IB-21. The bglA, bglB, and bgaA consisted of 1311 bp (436 amino acid residues), 1296 bp (431 aa), and 1938 bp (645 aa) of nucleotides with predicted molecular masses of 49,066, 48,679, and 72,714 Da, respectively. These enzymes were overexpressed in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) using pET21b(+) vector system. The recombinant enzymes were purified to homogeneity by a heat precipitation (70 degrees C, 40 min) and a Ni2+-affinity chromatography. The molecular masses of the purified enzymes estimated by SDS-PAGE agreed with their predicted values. All the purified enzymes showed their optimal pH at around 5.0-6.0. In contrast, the temperature profiles for activity and thermostability patterns were different for each enzyme. BglB beta-glycosidase displayed the best lactose hydrolysis activity of the three enzymes without substrate inhibition up to 200 mM lactose at 70 degrees C and pH 7.0. The specific activities (U/mg) of BglA, BglB, and BgaA on 138 mM lactose at 70 degrees C and pH 7.0 were 36.8, 160.3, and 8.5, respectively.     

Topographical and enzymatic characterization of amylases from the extremely thermophilic eubacterium Thermotoga maritima.

The hyperthermophilic eubacterium Thermotoga maritima uses starch as a substrate, without releasing amylase activity into the culture medium. The enzyme is associated with the 'toga'. Its expression level is too low to allow the isolation of the pure enzyme. Using cycloheptaamylose and acarbose affinity chromatography and common chromatographic procedures, two enzyme fractions are obtained. They differ in specificity, pH-optimum, temperature dependence and stability. Substrate specificity and Ca2+ dependence indicate alpha-, beta- and gluco-amylase activity. Compared with alpha-amylase from Bacillus licheniformis (Tmax = 75 degrees C), the amylases from Thermotoga maritima show exceedingly high thermal stability with an upper temperature limit at 95 degrees C. Significant turnover occurs only between 70 and 100 degrees C, i.e. in the range of viability of the microorganism.     

Cloning, isolation and characterization of the Thermotoga maritima KDPG aldolase

The Thermotoga maritima aldolase gene has been cloned into a T7 expression vector and overexpressed in Escherichia coli. The preparation yields 470 UL(-1) of enzyme at a specific activity of 9.4 U mg(-1). During retroaldol cleavage of KDPG, the enzyme shows a k(cat) that decreases with decreasing temperature. A more than offsetting decrease in K(m) yields an enzyme that is more efficient at 40 degrees C than at 70 degrees C. The substrate specificity of the enzyme was evaluated in the synthetic direction with a range of aldehyde substrates. Although the protein shows considerable structural homology to KDPG aldolases from mesophilic sources, significant differences in substrate specificity exist. A preparative scale reaction between 2-pyridine carboxaldehyde and pyruvate provided product of the same absolute configuration as mesophilic enzymes, but with diminished stereoselectivity.     

Purification and characterization of Thermotoga maritima endonuclease IV, a thermostable apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease and 3'-repair diesterase

An endonuclease IV homolog was identified as the product of a conceptual open reading frame in the genome of the hyperthermophilic bacterium Thermotoga maritima. The T. maritima endonuclease IV gene encodes a 287-amino-acid protein with 32% sequence identity to Escherichia coli endonuclease IV. The gene was cloned, and the expressed protein was purified and shown to have enzymatic activities that are characteristic of the endonuclease IV family of DNA repair enzymes, including apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease activity and repair activities on 3'-phosphates, 3'-phosphoglycolates, and 3'-trans-4-hydroxy-2-pentenal-5-phosphates. The T. maritima enzyme exhibits enzyme activity at both low and high temperatures. Circular dichroism spectroscopy indicates that T. maritima endonuclease IV has secondary structure similar to that of E. coli endonuclease IV and that the T. maritima endonuclease IV structure is more stable than E. coli endonuclease IV by almost 20 degrees C, beginning to rapidly denature only at temperatures approaching 90 degrees C. The presence of this enzyme, which is part of the DNA base excision repair pathway, suggests that thermophiles use a mechanism similar to that used by mesophiles to deal with the large number of abasic sites that arise in their chromosomes due to the increased rates of DNA damage at elevated temperatures.