Characterization of a Medium Wavelength Type DNA Photolyase: Purification and Properties of Photolyase from Bacillus firmus

Abstract

The gene for the apoenzyme of Bacillus firmus photolyase was cloned and sequenced. The enzyme was overproduced in Escherichia coli, purified, and characterized. It has the unique property of having the maximum activity over a wavelength range where all other known photolyases exhibit modest activity. The enzyme contains reduced FAD and methenyltetrahydrofolate and has an absorption and action spectrum peak at 410 nm, and it repairs DNA with a quantum yield of phi approximately 0.75.