Soluble alkaline phosphatase from the thermophilic bacterium Bacillus stear
othermophilus was purified by a combination of chromatographic methods, and
its properties were examined. The purified enzyme had specific activity of
4.43 mu mol p-nitrophenol/min per mg of protein and seemed to be a single
band on SDS/PAGE with a molecular mass of 32 kDa, Its apparent K-m for p-ni
trophenyl phosphate was 1.114 mM. The enzyme exhibited an optimal pH of app
rox. 9.0 and exhibited its highest activity at 60-70 degrees C, It also sho
wed a bivalent cation requirement for activity, with maximal enhancement in
the presence of Mg2+. In addition, significant thermal stability was obser
ved in comparison with counterparts from mesophiles. Its partial N-terminal
sequence was T(1)FSIVAFDPATGELGIAVQ(19) as estimated by automated Edman de
gradation method. A search on the SwissProt database did not reveal any sim
ilar protein sequences from other sources.