Biomaterial Database

Nuclease TT1 from Thermus thermophilus HB8 has an endonuclease activity preferential to circular DNAs. 1980

M Takahashi, and M Kobayashi, and T Uchida

Homogeneously purified nuclease TT1 from Thermus thermophilus HB8 is known as an exonuclease to produce 5'-mononucleotides. Besides the exonuclease activity, nuclease TT1 also possesses endonuclease activity preferential to superhelical (form I) and single-stranded circular DNA. Although the rate of cleavage is slower than that of form I, covalently closed circular DNA (form I') is also cleaved. Form I DNA was nicked to yield relaxed circles (form II) first, and was then nicked at the opposite site to yield unit length linear DNA (form III) which was subsequently hydrolyzed to 5'-mononucleotides exonucleolytically. Both endo- and exo-nuclease activities co-migrate on polyacrylamide gels. The general properties of the endonuclease activity are very similar to those of the exonuclease activity. The temperature optimum for endonuclease activity was 85 degrees C. The pH-optimum was in pH-range from 7.5-9.1. The enzyme was active over a wide range of Mg2+ concentrations (2.5-125 mM), and was inhibited by EDTA. A linear substrate such as (dT)8 was a competitive inhibitor for this endonuclease activity.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D004270	DNA, Circular	Any of the covalently closed DNA molecules found in bacteria, many viruses, mitochondria, plastids, and plasmids. Small, polydisperse circular DNA's have also been observed in a number of eukaryotic organisms and are suggested to have homology with chromosomal DNA and the capacity to be inserted into, and excised from, chromosomal DNA. It is a fragment of DNA formed by a process of looping out and deletion, containing a constant region of the mu heavy chain and the 3'-part of the mu switch region. Circular DNA is a normal product of rearrangement among gene segments encoding the variable regions of immunoglobulin light and heavy chains, as well as the T-cell receptor. (Riger et al., Glossary of Genetics, 5th ed & Segen, Dictionary of Modern Medicine, 1992)	Circular DNA,Circular DNAs,DNAs, Circular
D004277	DNA, Single-Stranded	A single chain of deoxyribonucleotides that occurs in some bacteria and viruses. It usually exists as a covalently closed circle.	Single-Stranded DNA,DNA, Single Stranded,Single Stranded DNA
D004278	DNA, Superhelical	Circular duplex DNA isolated from viruses, bacteria and mitochondria in supercoiled or supertwisted form. This superhelical DNA is endowed with free energy. During transcription, the magnitude of RNA initiation is proportional to the DNA superhelicity.	DNA, Supercoiled,DNA, Supertwisted,Supercoiled DNA,Superhelical DNA,Supertwisted DNA
D005092	Exonucleases	Enzymes that catalyze the release of mononucleotides by the hydrolysis of the terminal bond of deoxyribonucleotide or ribonucleotide chains.	Exonuclease,3'-5'-Exonuclease,3'-5'-Exonucleases,5'-3'-Exonuclease,5'-3'-Exonucleases,3' 5' Exonuclease,3' 5' Exonucleases,5' 3' Exonuclease,5' 3' Exonucleases
D001665	Binding Sites	The parts of a macromolecule that directly participate in its specific combination with another molecule.	Combining Site,Binding Site,Combining Sites,Site, Binding,Site, Combining,Sites, Binding,Sites, Combining
D013379	Substrate Specificity	A characteristic feature of enzyme activity in relation to the kind of substrate on which the enzyme or catalytic molecule reacts.	Specificities, Substrate,Specificity, Substrate,Substrate Specificities
D013824	Thermus	Gram-negative aerobic rods found in warm water (40-79 degrees C) such as hot springs, hot water tanks, and thermally polluted rivers.