Glutamyl-tRNA synthetase from Thermus thermophilus HB8. Molecular cloning of the gltX gene and crystallization of the overproduced protein.

The gene for the Glu-tRNA synthetase from an extreme thermophile, Thermus thermophilus HB8, was isolated using a synthetic oligonucleotide probe coding for the N-terminal amino acid sequence of Glu-tRNA synthetase. Nucleotide-sequence analysis revealed an open reading frame coding for a protein composed of 468 amino acid residues (Mr 53,901). Codon usage in the T. thermophilus Glu-tRNA synthetase gene was in fact similar to the characteristic usages in the genes for proteins from bacteria of genus Thermus: the G + C content in the third position of the codons was as high as 94%. In contrast, the amino acid sequence of T. thermophilus Glu-tRNA synthetase showed high similarity with bacterial Glu-tRNA synthetases (35-45% identity); the sequences of the binding sites for ATP and for the 3' terminus of tRNA(Glu) are highly conserved. The Glu-tRNA synthetase gene was efficiently expressed in Escherichia coli under the control of the tac promoter. The recombinant T. thermophilus Glu-tRNA synthetase was extremely thermostable and was purified to homogeneity by heat treatment and three-step column chromatography. Single crystals of T. thermophilus Glu-tRNA synthetase were obtained from poly(ethylene glycol) 6000 solution by a vapor-diffusion technique. The crystals diffract X-rays beyond 0.35 nm. The crystal belongs to the orthorhombic space group P2(1)2(1)2(1), with unit-cell parameters of a = 8.64 nm, b = 8.86 nm and c = 8.49 nm.