THE UNIQUE POSTTRANSLATIONAL MODIFICATION LEADING TO DEOXYHYPUSINE OR HYPUSINE IS A GENERAL FEATURE OF THE ARCHAEBACTERIAL KINGDOM

Investigations of cell protein from various archaebacterial species representing about three fourths of the known phyla revealed that the ability to synthesize protein-bound deoxyhypusine and/or hypusine is apparently a common feature of all aerobic and anaerobic organisms of this kingdom. The deoxyhypusine contents varied between 6 and 78 nmol/g protein, the hypusine contents between 2 and 41 nmol/g protein. The lack or very low levels of hypusine corresponded to high concentrations of deoxyhypusine suggesting that deoxyhypusine may substitute for hypusine in its unknown function. The ability of Thermoproteus tenax, Pyrodictium occultum and Desulfurolobus ambivalens to hydroxylate deoxyhypusine in the absence of molecular oxygen points to another hydroxylation mechanism than that found in eukaryotes. © 1990, Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart · New York. All rights reserved.