ABSTRACT
Here we report the initial biochemical characterization of the bifunctional α-ribazole-P (α-RP) phosphatase, adenosylcobinamide (AdoCbi) amidohydrolase CbiS enzyme from the hyperthermophilic methanogenic archaeon
Methanopyrus kandleri
AV19. The
cbiS
gene encodes a 39-kDa protein with two distinct segments, one of which is homologous to the AdoCbi amidohydrolase (CbiZ, EC 3.5.1.90) enzyme and the other of which is homologous to the recently discovered archaeal α-RP phosphatase (CobZ, EC 3.1.3.73) enzyme. CbiS function restored AdoCbi salvaging and α-RP phosphatase activity in strains of the bacterium
Salmonella enterica
where either step was blocked. The two halves of the
cbiS
genes retained their function in vivo when they were cloned separately. The CbiS enzyme was overproduced in
Escherichia coli
and was isolated to >95% homogeneity. High-performance liquid chromatography, UV-visible spectroscopy, and mass spectroscopy established α-ribazole and cobyric acid as the products of the phosphatase and amidohydrolase reactions, respectively. Reasons why the CbiZ and CobZ enzymes are fused in some archaea are discussed.