Insight into the transition between the open and closed conformations of Thermus thermophilus carboxypeptidase.

Carboxypeptidase cleaves the C-terminal amino acid residue from proteins and peptides. Here, we report the functional and structural characterizations of carboxypeptidase belonging to the M32 family from the thermophilic bacterium Thermus thermophilus HB8 (TthCP). TthCP exhibits a relatively broad specificity for both hydrophilic (neutral and basic) and hydrophobic (aliphatic and aromatic) residues at the C-terminus and shows optimal activity in the temperature range of 75-80 °C and in the pH range of 6.

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis of carboxypeptidase 1 from Thermus thermophilus.

Carboxypeptidase 1 from the thermophilic eubacterium Thermus thermophilus (TthCP1, 58 kDa), a member of the M32 family of metallocarboxypeptidases, was crystallized by the sitting-drop vapour-diffusion method using PEG 8000 as the precipitant. The crystals diffracted X-rays to beyond 2.6 A resolution using a synchrotron-radiation source.