Glutamate dehydrogenase from the thermoacidophilic archaebacterium Sulfolobus solfataricus

An NAD(P)-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase was purified to homogeneity from the thermoacidophilic archaebacterium Sulfolobus solfataricus. The enzyme is a hexamer (subunit mass 45 kDa) which dissociates into lower states of association when submitted to gel filtration. Isoelectric focusing analysis of the purified enzyme showed a pI of 5.7 and occasionally revealed microheterogeneity. The enzyme is strictly specific for the natural substrates 2-oxoglutarate and L-glutamate, but is active with both NADH and NADPH. S. solfataricus glutamate dehydrogenase revealed a high degree of thermal stability (at 80 C the half-life was 15 h) which was strictly dependent on the protein concentration. Very high levels of glutamate dehydrogenase were found in this archaebacterium which suggests that the conversion of 2-oxoglutarate and ammonia to glutamate is of central importance to the nitrogen metabolism in this bacterium.