Ligands of Thermophilic ABC Transporters Encoded in a Newly Sequenced Genomic Region of Thermotoga maritima MSB8 Screened by Differential Scanning Fluorimetry

The chromosome of Thermotoga maritima strain MSB8 was found to have an 8,870-bp region that is not present in its published sequence. The isolate that was sequenced by The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) in 1999 is apparently a laboratory variant of the isolate deposited at the Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen und Zellkulturen (DSM 3109) in 1986. This newly sequenced region from the DSMZ culture was located between TM1848 (cbp, cellobiose phosphorylase) and TM1847 (the 3′ end of a truncated ROK regulator). The new region contained seven genes: a beta glucosidase gene (bglA), three trehalose ABC transporter genes (treEFG), three xylose ABC transporter genes (xylE2F2K2), and the 5′ end of a gene encoding the ROK regulator TM1847. We present a new differential scanning fluorimetry method using a low pH that was necessary to screen potential ligands of these exceptionally thermostable periplasmic substrate-binding proteins. This method showed that trehalose, sucrose, and glucose stabilized TreE, and their binding was confirmed by measuring changes in intrinsic fluorescence upon ligand binding. Binding constants of 0.024 μM, 0.300 μM, and 56.78 μM at 60°C, respectively, were measured. XylE2 ligands were similarly determined and xylose, glucose, and fucose bound with K_d (dissociation constant) values of 0.042 μM, 0.059 μM, and 1.436 μM, respectively. Since there is no discernible phenotypic difference between the TIGR isolate and the DSMZ isolate despite the variance in their genomes, we propose that they be called genomovars: T. maritima MSB8 genomovar TIGR and T. maritima MSB8 genomovar DSM 3109, respectively.