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A proposed mechanism for the thermal denaturation of a recombinant Bacillus halmapalus α-amylase—the effect of calcium ions

✍ Scribed by Anders D Nielsen; Marc L Pusey; Claus C Fuglsang; Peter Westh


Publisher
Elsevier Science
Year
2003
Tongue
English
Weight
284 KB
Volume
1652
Category
Article
ISSN
1570-9639

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✦ Synopsis


The thermal stability of a recombinant a-amylase from Bacillus halmapalus a-amylase (BHA) has been investigated using circular dichroism spectroscopy (CD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). This a-amylase is homologous to other Bacillus a-amylases where crystallographic studies have identified the existence of three calcium binding sites in the structure. Denaturation of BHA is irreversible with a T m of approximately 89 jC and DSC thermograms can be described using a one-step irreversible model. A 5 jC increase in T m in the presence of 10-fold excess CaCl 2 was observed. However, a concomitant increase in the tendency to aggregate was also observed. The presence of 30 -40-fold excess calcium chelator (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) or ethylene glycol-bis[h-aminoethyl ether] N,N,NV ,NV -tetraacetic acid (EGTA)) results in a large destabilization of BHA, corresponding to about 40 jC lower T m as determined by both CD and DSC. Ten-fold excess EGTA reveals complex DSC thermograms corresponding to both reversible and irreversible transitions, which probably originate from different populations of BHA/calcium complexes. Combined interpretation of these observations and structural information on homologous a-amylases forms the basis for a suggested mechanism underlying the inactivation mechanism of BHA. The mechanism includes irreversible thermal denaturation of different BHA/calcium complexes and the calcium binding equilibria. Furthermore, the model accounts for a temperature-induced reversible structural change associated with calcium binding.