Purification and properties of a polyadenylate polymerase from Artemia dormant embryos

Abstract

Soluble extracts from encysted dormant embryos of Artemia contain a poly(A) polymerase activity which has been partially purified and characterized. The enzyme requires manganese, an RNA primer and ATP for maximal activity. The K_m for ATP is 0.04 mM and the enzyme is inhibited by concentrations higher than 0.5 mM ATP. dATP replaces ATP with a 15% efficiency. The K_m for dATP is 0.06 mM. Natural RNAs, poly(A) and poly(AG) are the best RNA primers among several homopolymers and copolymers tested. The poly(A) polymerase does not show any specificity for the nucleotide in the 3′ end of the RNA primer. The product of the reaction is a polyadenylic acid chain covalently bound to the RNA primer molecule. The length of the poly(A) chain is about ten nucleotides, but this length is dependent on the incubation time and the RNA primer concentration. The molecular weight of the enzyme is 70 000 and its isoelectric point is 6.0. The existence of an active poly(A) polymerase in dormant embryos of Artemia, likely with a cytoplasmic localization, suggests a role for this enzyme in the processing and activation of the stored mRNAs after resumption of development.