Trypanosoma brucei is a eukaryotic parasite transmitted by the tsetse fly and is the causative agent of Human African trypanosomiasis. T. brucei has acquired the enzyme haloacid dehalogenase (HAD) through horizontal gene transfer from bacteria. Broadly, our laboratory is interested in characterizing enzymes in the parasite that have been acquired through horizontal gene transfer. There are two annotated, putative haloacid dehalogenases, TbHAD32 and TbHAD35, that are each essential in a part of the trypanosome life cycle and share sequence similarity with bacterial sources of the enzyme. Based on bioinformatic analyses, we hypothesize that TbHAD32 and TbHAD35 are HAD phosphatases. The parasite HADs, including a truncated version of TbHAD32 also present in the database, were overexpressed, purified, and substrate screening carried out. The enzymatic characterization of the trypanosomal HADs will be presented.

Exploring enzymes acquired through horizontal gene transfer in trypanosomes: Two haloacid dehalogenases

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

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