Micrococcal nuclease
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Through Nucleic acid, Enzyme and Molar mass
Characteristics
The enzyme has a molecular weight of 16.9kDa.
The pH optimum is reported as 9.2. The enzyme activity is strictly dependent on Ca2+ and the pH optimum varies according to Ca2+ concentration. The enzyme is therefore easily inactivated by EGTA.
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Structure
The 3-dimensional structure of micrococcal nuclease (then called Staphyloccal nuclease) was solved very early in the history of protein crystallography, in 1969, deposited as now-obsolete Protein Data Bank file 1SNS. Higher-resolution, more recent crystal structures are available for the apo form as Protein Data Bank file 1SNO: and for the thymidine-diphosphate-inhibited form as Protein Data Bank file 3H6M: or 1SNC: . As seen in the ribbon diagram above, the nuclease molecule has 3 long alpha helices and a 5-stranded, barrel-shaped beta sheet, in an arrangement known as the OB-fold (for oligonucleotide-binding fold) as classified in the SCOP database.
Applications
- CUT&RUN sequencing, antibody-targeted controlled cleavage by micrococcal nuclease for transcriptomic profiling.
- Hydrolysis of nucleic acids in crude cell-free extracts.
- Sequencing of RNA.
- Preparation of rabbit reticulocyte lysates.
- Studies of chromatin structure.
- Removal of nucleic acids from laboratory protein preparations allowing for protein folding and structure-function studies.
- Research on the mechanisms of protein folding.