Molecular cloning of the genes for pyruvate kinase of two bacilli, Bacillus psychrophilus and Bacillus licheniformis, and comparison of the properties of the enzymes produced in Escherichia coli.

The genes for the pyruvate kinases of a psychrophile, Bacillus psychrophilus, and a mesophile, Bacillus licheniformis, have been cloned in Escherichia coli, and all their nucleotides were sequenced. The two bacterial enzymes each had an extra C-terminal sequence consisting of about 110 amino acid residues, which has been found in the B. stearothermophilus enzyme. Both enzymes were overexpressed in E. coli and the properties of the purified enzymes were compared to those of the B. stearothermophilus enzyme. Both enzymes were less stable than the B. stearothermophilus one. The B. psychrophilus enzyme was more stable than the B. licheniformis one. Similarly to the B. licheniformis and B. stearothermophilus pyruvate kinases, the B. psychrophilus enzyme was activated by AMP or ribose 5-phosphate, and inhibited by ATP or fructose 1,6-bisphosphate. Thus, these enzymes were very similar in the sigmoidal saturation curve for phosphoenolpyruvate and allosteric effectors, but their optimum temperatures and thermostabilities were very different.