Molecular cloning and functional expression of a protein- serine/threonine phosphatase from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrodictium abyssi TAG11

Abstract

An open reading frame coding for a putative protein-serine/threonine phosphatase was identified in the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrodictium abyssi TAG11 and named Py-PP1. Py-PP1 was expressed in Escherichia coli, purified from inclusion bodies, and biochemically characterized. The phosphatase gene is part of an operon which may provide, for the first time, insight into a physiological role for archaeal protein phosphatases in vivo.