Perchlorate salts confer psychrophilic characteristics in α-chymotrypsin

Abstract Studies of salt effects on enzyme activity have typically been conducted at standard temperatures and pressures, thus missing effects which only become apparent under non-standard conditions. Here we show that perchlorate salts, which are found pervasively on Mars, increase the activity of...

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Autores principales:	Stewart Gault, Michel W. Jaworek, Roland Winter, Charles S. Cockell
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/67e0662c8aec45b88c589e3e67e95101
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id	oai:doaj.org-article:67e0662c8aec45b88c589e3e67e95101
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:67e0662c8aec45b88c589e3e67e951012021-12-02T16:45:54ZPerchlorate salts confer psychrophilic characteristics in α-chymotrypsin10.1038/s41598-021-95997-22045-2322https://doaj.org/article/67e0662c8aec45b88c589e3e67e951012021-08-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-95997-2https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Studies of salt effects on enzyme activity have typically been conducted at standard temperatures and pressures, thus missing effects which only become apparent under non-standard conditions. Here we show that perchlorate salts, which are found pervasively on Mars, increase the activity of α-chymotrypsin at low temperatures. The low temperature activation is facilitated by a reduced enthalpy of activation owing to the destabilising effects of perchlorate salts. By destabilising α-chymotrypsin, the perchlorate salts also cause an increasingly negative entropy of activation, which drives the reduction of enzyme activity at higher temperatures. We have also shown that α-chymotrypsin activity appears to exhibit an altered pressure response at low temperatures while also maintaining stability at high pressures and sub-zero temperatures. As the effects of perchlorate salts on the thermodynamics of α-chymotrypsin’s activity closely resemble those of psychrophilic adaptations, it suggests that the presence of chaotropic molecules may be beneficial to life operating in low temperature environments.Stewart GaultMichel W. JaworekRoland WinterCharles S. CockellNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-9 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Stewart Gault Michel W. Jaworek Roland Winter Charles S. Cockell Perchlorate salts confer psychrophilic characteristics in α-chymotrypsin
description	Abstract Studies of salt effects on enzyme activity have typically been conducted at standard temperatures and pressures, thus missing effects which only become apparent under non-standard conditions. Here we show that perchlorate salts, which are found pervasively on Mars, increase the activity of α-chymotrypsin at low temperatures. The low temperature activation is facilitated by a reduced enthalpy of activation owing to the destabilising effects of perchlorate salts. By destabilising α-chymotrypsin, the perchlorate salts also cause an increasingly negative entropy of activation, which drives the reduction of enzyme activity at higher temperatures. We have also shown that α-chymotrypsin activity appears to exhibit an altered pressure response at low temperatures while also maintaining stability at high pressures and sub-zero temperatures. As the effects of perchlorate salts on the thermodynamics of α-chymotrypsin’s activity closely resemble those of psychrophilic adaptations, it suggests that the presence of chaotropic molecules may be beneficial to life operating in low temperature environments.
format	article
author	Stewart Gault Michel W. Jaworek Roland Winter Charles S. Cockell
author_facet	Stewart Gault Michel W. Jaworek Roland Winter Charles S. Cockell
author_sort	Stewart Gault
title	Perchlorate salts confer psychrophilic characteristics in α-chymotrypsin
title_short	Perchlorate salts confer psychrophilic characteristics in α-chymotrypsin
title_full	Perchlorate salts confer psychrophilic characteristics in α-chymotrypsin
title_fullStr	Perchlorate salts confer psychrophilic characteristics in α-chymotrypsin
title_full_unstemmed	Perchlorate salts confer psychrophilic characteristics in α-chymotrypsin
title_sort	perchlorate salts confer psychrophilic characteristics in α-chymotrypsin
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/67e0662c8aec45b88c589e3e67e95101
work_keys_str_mv	AT stewartgault perchloratesaltsconferpsychrophiliccharacteristicsinachymotrypsin AT michelwjaworek perchloratesaltsconferpsychrophiliccharacteristicsinachymotrypsin AT rolandwinter perchloratesaltsconferpsychrophiliccharacteristicsinachymotrypsin AT charlesscockell perchloratesaltsconferpsychrophiliccharacteristicsinachymotrypsin
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Perchlorate salts confer psychrophilic characteristics in α-chymotrypsin

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