Sequence divergence of an archaebacterial gene cloned from a mesophilic and a thermophilic methanogen

Summary A 1.6-kb fragment of DNA from the thermophilic, methane-producing, anaerobic archaebacteriumMethanobacterium thermoautotrophicum H has been cloned and sequenced. This DNA complements mutations in both the purE₁ and purE₂ loci ofEscherichia coli. The sequence of theM. thermoautotrophicum DNA predicts that complementation inE. coli results from the synthesis of a polypeptide with a molecular weight of 36,249. A polypeptide apparently of this molecular weight is synthesized inE. coli minicells containing recombinant plasmids that carry the cloned fragment of methanogen DNA. We have previously cloned and sequenced a purE-complementing gene from the mesophilic methanogenMethanobrevibacter smithii. The two methanogen-derived purE-complementing genes are 53% homologous and encode polypeptides that are 45% homologous in their amino acid sequences but would be 74% homologous if conservative amino acid substitutions were considered as maintaining sequence homology. The genome ofM. thermoautotrophicum has a molar G+C content of 49.7%, whereas the genome ofM. smithii is 30.6% G+C. Conservation of encoded amino acids while accommodating the very different G+C contents is accomplished by use of different codons that encode the same amino acid. The majority of base changes occur at the third codon position. The intergenic regions of the clonedM. thermoautotrophicum DNA contain sequences previously identified as ribosome binding sites and as putative methanogen promoters. Although the two purE-complementing genes are apparently derived from a common ancestor, only the gene fromM. smithii maintains a codon usage that conforms to the RNY rule.