Thermostable proteinases from thermophilic bacteria
AssigneeZyGEM Corporation Limited
InventorsRoy McIver DANIEL, David James SAUL
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Abstract
The present invention relates to the preparation of a method for the preparation of nucleic acid samples, including the steps of adding at least one non-specific thermophilic enzyme to a sample containing nucleic acid for testing, and incubating said sample for a preferred period at 65-80° C. as required to effect one or more of lysis of cells, digestion of proteins, digestion of cell-wall enzymes, via activity of said thermophilic enzyme, wherein said thermophilic enzyme is substantially stable and active at 65-80° C. but which is readily autolysed and/or denatured when said sample is incubated at or above 90° C.
Claims7
A method for the preparation of nucleic acid samples for testing, comprising:
- i) adding Bacillus EA1 thermophilic proteinase to a sample comprising nucleic acid for testing, thereby forming a system, wherein the thermophilic proteinase digests protein in the sample and is capable of auto-catalysis at or above 90° C.;
- ii) closing the system;
- iii) incubating the sample in the system for a period at 65-80° C. as required to effect one or more of:
- lysis of one or more cells, digestion of one or more proteins, or digestion of one or more cell-wall enzymes, via activity of the thermophilic proteinase;
- iv) incubating the sample in the system at or above 90° C. to effect auto-catalysis of the thermophilic proteinase;
- wherein the protein and thermophilic proteinase are denatured in the system prior to opening without the addition of further denaturing agents.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.