A thermostable archaeal S-adenosylmethionine synthetase: a promising tool to improve the synthesis of adenosylmethionine analogs of biotechnological interest

Abstract

The naturally and widely occurring sulfonium compound, S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet), one of nature's most versatile molecules, is biosynthesized from methionine and ATP by AdoMet synthetase or methionine adenosyltransferase (MAT) in a 2-step reaction in which the energy-rich sulfonium compound is formed by dephosphorylation of ATP. All living cells, with the only exception of some parasites and infectious agents, express MAT.

Keywords: AdoMet, S-Adenosylmethionine; Archaea; BsMAT, MAT from Bacillus subtilis; DMSO, dimethylsulfoxide; MAT, adenosylmethionine synthetase or methionine adenosyltransferase; EcMAT, MAT from E. coli.; MjMAT, MAT from Methanococcus jannaschii; PfMAT, MAT from Pyrococcus furiosus; Pyrococcus furiosus; S-Adenosylmethionine; SsMAT, MAT from Sulfolobus solfataricus; TkMAT, MAT from Thermococcus kodakarensis; adenosylmethionine synthetase; hyperthermophilic enzymes; methionine adenosyltransferase; organic solvent activity and thermostability.

Figure 1.

Effect of increasing concentrations of methanol, ethanol, acetonitrile, and DMSO on the acivity of PfMAT at 50°C. The enzyme was assayed in standard conditions for 15 min in the presence of the solvent to be analyzed at different percentage from 5% to 30% (vol/vol). (♦) Methanol; (▪) ethanol; (▴) acetonitrile; (•) DMSO. Each error bar indicates the standard deviation (± SD). Values were the mean of triplicate analyses.