* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received December 19, 2001; Revision received April 2, 2002
Homogeneous malate dehydrogenase (MDH) with a specific activity of 20-24 units per mg protein was purified from the sulfur bacterium Beggiatoa leptomitiformis strain D-402 grown organotrophically and lithotrophically and from the organotrophic bacterium Beggiatoa alba. MDHs from the B. leptomitiformis strain D-402 grown under organotrophic conditions and from B. alba are homodimers with the subunit molecular weight of 40 kD. Tetrameric MDH is formed in B. leptomitiformis strain D-402 grown under lithotrophic conditions. The dimeric and tetrameric forms of MDH from B. leptomitiformis D-402display some differences in kinetic properties.
KEY WORDS: malate dehydrogenase, Beggiatoa leptomitiformis strain D-402, lithotrophy, purification, subunit structure, catalytic properties