J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 264, Issue 12, 6629-6637, Apr, 1989
Amino acid sequence of Mirabilis antiviral protein, total synthesis of its gene and expression in Escherichia coli
N Habuka, Y Murakami, M Noma, T Kudo and K Horikoshi
Life Science Research Laboratory, Japan Tobacco Inc., Kanagawa.
We have determined the complete amino acid sequence of Mirabilis antiviral
protein (MAP). MAP is composed of 250 amino acids having a combined
molecular weight of 27,833 and contains 23 lysine residues and 7 arginine
residues. The amino acid sequence of MAP has 24% homology with the Ricin
D-A chain. To carry out systematic structure-function studies of MAP, we
have accomplished the total synthesis of its gene. We designed a synthetic
MAP gene containing 12 unique restriction sites that were on the average 65
base pairs apart. Thirty synthetic oligonucleotides were enzymatically
joined to form DNA duplexes. These were strategically synthesized to have
EcoRI and HindIII cohesive ends and were cloned in pUC19. Nine blocks of
the synthetic fragments were assembled in pUC19 to form the MAP gene
consisting of 759 base pairs. The correctness of the connecting reactions
was confirmed by step-wise sequencing of each assembled fragment as well as
the total gene. When expressed under control of the tac promoter in
Escherichia coli, the synthetic gene gave a protein similar to the native
MAP. This was confirmed by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western
blotting analysis.