Tuberculosis is a highly contagious (and often deadly) disease which primarily affects the lungs. In 2013, 1.5 million deaths resulted from the 9 million individuals infected. While infection and mortality rates have decreased by at least 40% since 1990, many of the deaths are still considered preventable. Because of this, greater characterization of the causative agent, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is necessary to understand the mechanism of infection and develop new treatment options. Although the genomes of many strains of M. tuberculosis have been sequenced, the functions of many genes remain unknown. An enzyme from the haloacid dehalogenase (HAD) superfamily has been identified in the H37Rv strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The phosphatase, coded by gene Rv3376 (NCBI reference NP_217893.1), is highly conserved across various Mycobacterium strains, but has yet to be well characterized. The protein has been expressed in BL21 DE3 E. coli cells and purified. We have identified pyrophosphate as a substrate, and work is in progress to further characterize the properties and kinetics of the enzyme.

Kinetic characterization of a HAD phosphatase from M. tuberculosis

251st National Meeting (2016)

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