Cloning, sequencing, and expression of the gene encoding extracellular alpha-amylase from Pyrococcus furiosus and biochemical characterization of the recombinant enzyme

Microbiological research shows that the gene encoding the hyperthermophilic extracellular alpha-amylase from the microorganism Pyrococcus furiosus is a single 460-residue polypeptide chain with a 26-residue signal peptide. It has a half-life of 13 hours at 98 degrees centigrade and is more thermostable than the alpha-amylase enzyme from the microorganism Bacillus licheniformis.