In Vivo Characterization of the Homing Endonuclease within the polB Gene in the Halophilic Archaeon Haloferax volcanii

Impact of a homing intein on recombination frequency and organismal fitness.

Inteins are parasitic genetic elements that excise themselves at the protein level by self-splicing, allowing the formation of functional, nondisrupted proteins. Many inteins contain a homing endonuclease (HEN) domain and rely on its activity for horizontal propagation. However, successful invasion of an entire population will make this activity redundant, and the HEN domain is expected to dege...

Haloferax volcanii Dehydrogenase in the Halophilic Archaeon Functional Role for a 2-Oxo Acid

Growth phenotype analysis of heme synthetic enzymes in a halophilic archaeon, Haloferax volcanii

Halophilic euryarchaea lack many of the genes necessary for the protoporphyrin-dependent heme biosynthesis pathway previously identified in animals and plants. Bioinformatic analysis suggested the presence of two heme biosynthetic processes, an Fe-coproporphyrinogen III (coproheme) decarboxylase (ChdC) pathway and an alternative heme biosynthesis (Ahb) pathway, in Haloferax volcanii. PitA is sp...

Evidence for farnesol-mediated isoprenoid synthesis regulation in a halophilic archaeon, Haloferax volcanii.

Farnesol strongly inhibited growth of a halophilic archaeon, Haloferax volcanii, with an IC50 value of only 2 microM (0.4 microgram/ml) in rich medium and 50 nM (0.01 microgram/ml) in minimal medium without lysis. Other isoprenoid alcohols such as isopentenol, dimethylallyl alcohol, geraniol, and geranylgeraniol at 500 microM did not affect its growth. Mevalonate, which is the precursor of all ...

Cloning, expression, and purification of functional Sec11a and Sec11b, type I signal peptidases of the archaeon Haloferax volcanii.

Across evolution, type I signal peptidases are responsible for the cleavage of secretory signal peptides from proteins following their translocation across membranes. In Archaea, type I signal peptidases combine domain-specific features with traits found in either their eukaryal or bacterial counterparts. Eukaryal and bacterial type I signal peptidases differ in terms of catalytic mechanism, ph...