Expression, purification, and characterization of an aminopeptidase (Xac2987) with broad specificity from Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri

We report here, the cloning, expression, and purification of a broad specificity aminopeptidase from Xanthomonas campestris pv. citri in fusion with a hexa-histidine tag at the N-terminal portion of the protein to facilitate purification. The protein was expressed in the soluble fraction and could be purified in one step by IMAC, yielding approximately 50 mg pure protein per liter of cells. We show that the protein is folded and presents aminopeptidase activity against synthetic substrates. Also, we present the characterization of its specificity, showing that the protein was, indeed, able to catalyze the removal of N-terminal residues from synthetic substrates.