Purification and properties of carbon monoxide dehydrogenase from Methanococcus vannielii

Carbon monoxide dehydrogenase was purified to homogeneity from Methanococcus vannielii grown with formate as the sole carbon source. The enzyme is composed of subunits with molecular weights of 89,000 and 21,000 in an alpha 2 beta 2 oligomeric structure. The native molecular weight of carbon monoxide dehydrogenase, determined by gel electrophoresis, is 220,000. The enzyme from M. vannielii contains 2 g-atoms of nickel per mol of enzyme. Except for its relatively high pH optimum of 10.5 and its slightly greater net positive charge, the enzyme from M. vannielii closely resembles carbon monoxide dehydrogenase isolated previously from acetate-grown Methanosarcina barkeri. Carbon monoxide dehydrogenase from M. vannielii constitutes 0.2% of the soluble protein of the cell. By comparison the enzyme comprises 5% of the soluble protein in acetate-grown cells of M. barkeri and approximately 1% in methanol-grown cells.