Structural and functional characterization of adenylosuccinate synthetase from a mesophilic parasitic protozoan, plasmodium falciparum and a thermophilic archaea methanocaldococcus jannaschii

Abstract

This chapter provides an introduction to the enzyme adenylosuccinate synthetase which forms the theme of the studies reported in this thesis. This is followed by a general description of the life style of the two organisms; Methanocaldococcus jannaschii, a thermophilic archaea, and Plasmodium falciparum, a mesophilic parasitic protozoan. The last section of the chapter provides a comparative account of the properties of mesophilic and thermophilic proteins and outlines the features of thermozymes that are implicated in thermostability of these proteins.