Patent Publication Number: US-9416408-B2

Title: Thermostabillization of DNA polymerase by protein folding pathway from a hyperthermophile Archaeon, Pyrococcus furiosus

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     The present application claims priority to PCT Application No. PCT/US2006/034314 filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, PCT Division, on Aug. 29, 2006, which in turn claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/712,149 filed on Aug. 29, 2005, the contents of all applications are hereby incorporated by reference herein. 
    
    
     GOVERNMENT RIGHTS IN INVENTION 
     This invention was made with government support under Grant Number GM073295 awarded by the National Institutes of Health. The government has certain rights in the invention. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to maintaining the activity of enzymes, and more specifically to a combination of protein chaperones from a hyperthermopilic Archaeon for extending the durability and activity of an enzyme. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Hyperthermophiles are defined as microorganisms that grow optimally at or above 80° C. Their high temperature resistance raises questions regarding the protein chaperones that can fold proteins at very high temperatures. In common with other hyperthermophiles,  Pyrococcus furiosus , an archaeon that grows optimally at 100° C., encodes a reduced set of protein chaperones compared with eukaryotes or Archaea with lower growth temperatures (Laksanalamai et al. 2004). In the  P. furoisus  genome (Robb et al. 2001), two chaperones, the small heat shock protein (sHsp) and the sHsp60 (chaperonin), have been annotated, expressed and characterized. In addition, several putative chaperones, such as prefoldin, HtpX and Nascent peptide Associated Complex (NAC) have been identified (Laksanalamai et al. 2004). The most extensively studied chaperone in  P. furiosus  is the sHsp, which is an alpha-crystallin homolog with conserved sequence motifs in common with sHsps and crystallins from all domains of life (Chang et al. 1996; Haley et al. 2000; Kim et al. 1998; Laksanalamai et al. 2003; Laksanalamai et al. 2001; van Montfort et al. 2001). Several lines of evidence indicate that sHsps can prevent denatured proteins from aggregating but are unable to refold non-native proteins in a catalytic fashion (Chang et al. 1996; Laksanalamai et al. 2001). Hsp60s on the other hand catalyze ATP-dependent protein folding (Hartl 1996; Hartl and Hayer-Hartl 2002). 
     The heat shock proteins of the invention,  Pyrococcus furiosus  (sHSP), confer thermotolerance on cellular cultures and on proteins in cellular extracts during prolonged incubation at elevated temperature, demonstrating the ability to protect cellular proteins and maintain cellular viability under heat stress conditions. Such heat shock proteins are effective to combat enzymatic aggregation and intracellular precipitation during heat stress, and thereby enable enhancement of the utility and stability of enzymes in various applications, such as use of Taq polymerase in polymerase chain reaction (PCR) applications, digestive enzymes in microbial degradative applications, etc. 
     The PCR is a powerful method for the rapid and exponential amplification of target nucleic acid sequences. PCR has facilitated the development of gene characterization and molecular cloning technologies including the direct sequencing of PCR amplified DNA, the determination of allelic variation, and the detection of infectious and genetic disease disorders. PCR is performed by repeated cycles of heat denaturation of a DNA template containing the target sequence, annealing of opposing primers to the complementary DNA strands, and extension of the annealed primers with a DNA polymerase. Multiple PCR cycles result in the exponential amplification of the nucleotide sequence delineated by the flanking amplification primers. 
     An important modification of the original PCR technique was the substitution of  Thermus aquaticus  (Taq) DNA polymerase in place of the Klenow fragment of  E. coli  DNA pol I. The incorporation of a thermostable DNA polymerase into the PCR protocol obviates the need for repeated enzyme additions and permits elevated annealing and primer extension temperatures which enhance the specificity of primer:template associations. Taq polymerase thus serves to increase the specificity and simplicity of PCR. 
     However, while the heat shock proteins provides stability of DNA polymerases in high heat conditions, there is a need in the art to provide a composition that has the potential to promote refolding of proteins and assembly for reuse of polymerases, such as the Taq polymerase. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In one aspect, the present invention relates to a composition comprising isolated chaperones from a hyperthermophilic archaeon for enhancing the solubility and stability of proteins/enzymes at increased temperature and further providing for folding of native and non-native proteins in a catalytic fashion. 
     In another aspect, the present invention relates to a composition comprising isolated chaperones from  Pyrococcus furiosus  including at least a small heat shock protein (sHsp), a prefoldin (Pfd) and a chaperonin (Cpn)(hsp60) in an amount to enhance the stability of DNA polymerase during functional enzyme-driven processes such as PCR. 
     In a further aspect, the present invention relates to a composition comprising an isolated sHsp and/or beta subunit of prefoldin in combination with an isolated Hsp60, to improve the thermostability of Taq polymerase in a PCR reaction. 
     In a still further aspect the present invention relates to a composition comprising a small heat shock protein (SEQ ID NO: 1), a truncated version thereof (SEQ ID NO: 2) or a homologous sequence have at least 90%, 95% or 99% homology thereof; a subunit of prefoldin including either α (SEQ ID NO: 3), β (SEQ ID NO: 4), a combination of both, or a homologous sequence have at least 90%, 95% or 99% homology thereof; and a chaperonin (SEQ ID NO: 5) or a homologous sequence have at least 90%, 95% or 99% homology thereof. 
     In yet another aspect, the present invention relates to a method of synthesizing or amplifying at least one nucleic acid molecule, said method comprising;
         (a) combining, in a mixture, at least one nucleic acid template, at least one polymerase, and a heat shock protein and/or prefoldin subunit in combination with sHsp60; and   (b) incubating said mixture under conditions sufficient to make one or more first nucleic acid molecules complementary to all or a portion of said nucleic acid template.       

     Another aspect of the present invention relates to a method of protecting and extending the durability of a recombinant DNA polymerase or other enzyme used in a PCR amplification, comprising the steps of:
         a) isolating a heat shock protein, perfoldin and sHsp60 from  P. furiosus;      b) adding the heat shock protein and/or prefoldin in combination with sHsp60 to a buffer solution containing the DNA polymerase or other enzyme;   c) incubating the solution at extended temperature for extended time;   d) adding components necessary for PCR;   e) thermocycling the reaction to produce product from amplification of genomic deoxyribonucleic acid; and   f) examining the product of the reaction by gel electrophoresis.       

     Yet another aspect of the invention relates to a method of enhancing the thermostability of Taq polymerase and protein folding activity at elevated temperatures and during thermal recycling, the method comprising
         adding a low molecular weight heat shock protein and/or perfoldin in combination with sHSP60 of  P. furiosus  to the solution;   elevating the temperature of the solution; and   measuring the enzymatic activity of Taq polymerase by absorbance.       

     A still further aspect of the invention relates to a PCR kit comprising a composition comprising passive and active chaperones of  P. furiosus , including a heat shock protein and/or perfoldin in combination with sHPS60, and one or more other PCR reagents. 
     In a further compositional aspect, the invention relates to a composition comprising:
     (i) a biological component; and   (ii) a composition comprising a  P. furiosus  Hsp,  P. furiosus  sHsp60 and at least on  P. furiosus  subunit of prefoldin or a precursor thereof, that are
       (A) exogenous to the biological component, and   (B) thermostabilizingly effective for the biological component in the composition.   
       

     Other aspects, features and embodiments of the invention will be more fully apparent from the ensuing disclosure and appended claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         FIG. 1  shows the effect of sHsp from  P. furiosus  on Taq polymerase enzyme stability in PCR reactions. Lane 1 is a 100-bp DNA ladder. Lanes 2 and 3 are controls with non-diluted enzyme at 0.025 U/ul with and without sHsp, respectively. Lanes 4 and 5 are PCR products from reactions with 5-fold dilutions of Taq polymerase at 0.005 U/ul with and without sHsp, respectively. Lanes 6 and 7 are PCR products from reactions with 10-fold dilutions of Taq polymerase at 0.0025 U/ul with and without sHsp, respectively. 
         FIG. 2  shows the effect of chaperones on thermostability of Taq DNA polymerase in the presence of  P. furiosus  molecular chaperones (sHsp and Hsp60). Inactivation of Taq polymerase in the presence of individual subunits of sHsp (∇), Hsp60 (□), Hsp60-Mg2+-ATP(▪), sHsp and HSP60 (⋄) and sHsp and Hsp60-Mg2+-ATP(♦). The controls are reactions without the addition of chaperones (∘) and with the addition of M2+ and ATP (●). 
         FIG. 3  shows the effect of chaperones on thermostability of Taq DNA polymerase in the presence of  P. furiosus  molecular chaperones (prefoldin and Hsp60). Inactivation of Taq polymerase in the presence of individual submits of prefoldin, prefoldin alpha (∇) and β (▾), prefoldin complex (X), Hsp60 (□), Hsp60-Mg2+-ATP (▪), prefoldin and HSP60 (⋄) and prefoldin and Hsp60-Mg2+-ATP (♦). The controls are reactions without the addition of chaperones (∘) and with the addition of M2+ and ATP (●). 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION AND PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to maintaining the activity of proteins, and more specifically to a combination of three protein chaperones, a small heat shock protein (sHsp), a prefoldin (Pfd) and a chaperonin (Cpn) from  Pyrococcus furiosus  wherein the passive chaperones sHsp and/or Pfd from  P. furiosus  can boost the protein refolding activity of Cpn for extending the durability of a recombinant DNA polymerase, such as Taq polymerase. 
     Definitions 
     As used herein, the following terms have the following meanings. 
     As used herein, the terms “heat shock protein” and “truncated heat shock protein” refer to any protein whose synthesis is enhanced when an organism or its cells are exposed to an increased temperature for that species; typically a temperature increase in a range of from about 5 to about 15° C. 
     As used herein, the term “low molecular weight heat shock protein” refers to those heat shock proteins that are between 12-42 kilodaltons (kDa) in size. 
     As used herein, the term “thermotolerance” refers to the ability of a cell to survive exposure to temperatures above its normal growth temperature. 
     As used herein, the term “DNA molecule” refers to the polymeric form of deoxyribonucleotides (adenine, guanine, thymine or cytosine) in either single stranded form, or a double-stranded helix. This term refers only to the primary and secondary structure of the molecule, and does not limit it to any particular tertiary forms. Thus, this term includes double-stranded DNA found, inter alia, in linear DNA molecules (e.g., restriction fragments), viruses, plasmids and chromosomes. 
     As used herein, the term “transgenic cell line” or “transgenic culture” refers to a cell or culture that has stably incorporated added DNA sequences into its genome after deliberate introduction of DNA into that cell. 
     As used herein, the term “vector” refers to a replicon, such as a plasmid, phage, cosmid or virus to which another DNA or RNA segment may be attached to bring about the replication of the attached segment. Specialized vectors were used herein, containing various promoters, polyadenylation signals, genes for selection, etc. 
     As used herein, the term “transcriptional and translational control sequences” refer to DNA regulatory sequences, such as promoters, enhancers, polyadenylation signals, terminators, and the like, that provide for the expression of a coding sequence in a host cell. 
     As used herein, the term “promoter sequence” is a DNA regulatory region capable of binding RNA polymerase in a cell and initiating transcription of a downstream (3′ direction) coding sequence. Eukaryotic promoters will often, but not always, contain “TATA” boxes and “CAT” boxes. Prokaryotic promoters contain Shine-Dalgarno sequences in addition to the −10 and −35 consensus sequences. 
     As used herein, the term “selection gene” refers to a gene that enables the discrimination of cells displaying a required phenotype upon implementation of certain conditions. For example, the growth of bacteria in a medium containing antibiotics to select for the bacterial cells containing antibiotic resistance genes. 
     As used herein, the terms “restriction endonucleases” and “restriction enzymes” refer to bacterial enzymes, each of which cuts double-stranded DNA at or near a specific nucleotide sequence. 
     As used herein, the terms “transformed” or “transfected” by exogenous or heterogeneous DNA when such DNA has been introduced inside the cell. The transforming DNA may or may not be integrated (covalently linked) into the genome of the cell. In prokaryotes, yeast and mammalian cells, for example, the transforming DNA may be maintained on an episomal element such as a plasmid. With respect to eukaryotic cells, a stably transformed cell is one in which the transforming DNA has become integrated into a chromosome so that it is inherited by daughter cells through chromosome replication. This stability is demonstrated by the ability of the eukaryotic cell to establish cell lines or clones of a population of daughter cells containing the transforming DNA. 
     As used herein, the term “cell line” is a clone of a primary cell that is capable of stable growth in vitro for many generations. 
     As used herein, the term “isolated” refers to material is removed from its original environment (e g. the natural environment where the material is naturally occurring). For example, a polynucleotide or polypeptide while present in a living organism is not isolated, but the same polynucleotide or polypeptide, which is separated from some or all of the coexisting materials in the natural system, is isolated. Such polynucleotides could be part of a vector and/or such polynucleotides or polypeptides could be part of a composition, and still be isolated in that the vector or composition and is not part of the natural environment. 
     As used herein, the term “nucleic acid sequence” refers to an oligonucleotide, nucleotide, or polynucleotide, and fragments or portions thereof, and to DNA, cDNA or RNA of genomic or synthetic origin, which may be single- or double-stranded, and represent the sense or antisense strand. 
     As used herein, the term “amino acid sequence” refers to an oligopeptide, peptide, polypeptide, or protein sequence, and fragments or portions thereof, and to naturally occurring or synthetic molecules. 
     As used herein, the term “homologous” refers to amino acid sequence similarity between two peptides. When an amino acid position in both of the peptides is occupied by identical amino acids, they are homologous at that position. Thus by “substantially homologous” means an amino acid sequence that is largely, but not entirely, homologous, and which retains most or all of the biological and functional activity as the sequence to which it is homologous. As used herein, “substantially homologous” as used herein means that a sequence is at least 75% identical, and preferably at least 95% and more preferably 98% homology to the reference peptide. The sequence may differ by conservative amino acid substitutions, for example, substitution of one amino acid for another of the same class (e.g., valine for glycine, arginine for lysine, etc.) or by one or more non-conservative substitutions, deletions, or insertions located at positions of the amino acid sequence which do not destroy the function of the protein (assayed, e.g., as described herein). A “substantially identical nucleic acid sequence “codes for a substantially identical amino acid sequence as defined above. 
     In accordance with the present invention, conventional molecular biology, microbiology, and recombinant DNA techniques within the skill of the art. Such techniques are explained fully in the literature. See, e.g., Maniatis, Fritsch &amp; Sambrook, “Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual” (1982); “DNA Cloning: A Practical Approach,” Volumes I and II (D. N. Glover, ed., 1985); “Oligonucleotide Synthesis” (M. J. Gait, ed., 1984); “Nucleic Acid Hybridization” (B. D. Hames &amp; S. J. Higgins, eds., 1985); “Transcription and Translation” (B. D. Hames &amp; S. J. Higgins, eds., 1984); “Animal Cell Culture” (R. I. Freshney, ed., 1986); “Immobilized Cells &amp; Enzymes,” IRL Press (1986); “A Practical Guide to Molecular Cloning,” B. Perbal (1984). 
     The invention contemplates enhancing the stability of Taq polymerase in a PCR operation, by conducting the PCR operation in the presence of both active and passive chaperones from  P. furiosus . The PCR operation may be carried out with the provision of a PCR kit including PCR primers, Taq polymerase, deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates and the three chaperons n HSP according to the present invention. 
     Transformed cells capable of expressing the chaperones of  P. furiosus  may be readily formed and utilized to produce the proteins for various applications of the invention, e.g., by use of recombinant DNA vectors for expression of the three chaperones. 
     The small heat shock protein from  Pyrococcus furiosus  (Pfu-sHSP) is composed of 167 amino acid residues encoded by an ORF of 504 nucleotides (GenBank Accession number AF256212). A truncated heat shock protein from  Pyrococcus furiosus  (Pfu-tsHSP) is composed of 156 amino acid residues encoded by a truncated ORF of 471 nucleotides (including a stop codon). 
     The invention is described more specifically hereinafter, in respect of the present inventors&#39; work involving heat shock protein (sHSP) and the truncated small heat shock protein (tsHSP) from the hyperthermophile  Pyrococcus furiosus , as cloned and overexpressed in  E. coli . The sHSP and tsHSP genes were found to be inducible by heat shock at 105° C. The present invention is effective at temperature from about 80° C. to about 110° C., and more preferably, from about 90° C. to about 100° C. 
     In a further aspect of the invention, the reagents described herein can be packaged in a kit form for carrying out PCR. As used herein, the term “package” refers to a solid matrix or materials customarily utilized in such a kit system in the form of at least one or more enclosure that is capable of holding within fixed limits at least one or more of the reagent components for use in PCR. Such materials include glass and plastic (e.g., polyethylene, polypropylene, and polycarbonate) bottle, vials, paper, plastic, plastic-foil laminated envelopes and the like. Thus, for example, a package can be a glass vial used to contain the appropriate quantities of polynucleotide primer(s), genomic DNA, vectors and DNA polymerase or a combination thereof, in addition to an appropriate amount of a heat shock protein, prefoldin and sHSP60 from  P. furiosus . An aliquot of each component sufficient to perform at least one complete PCR procedure may be provided in each package. 
     Kits useful for producing a primer extension product for amplification of a specific nucleic acid sequence using a primer extension reaction methodology also typically includes, in separate container within the kit, dNTPs where N is adenine, thymine, guanine and cytosine and other like agents for performing primer extension reactions. 
     The reagent species of any system described herein can be provided in solution, as a liquid dispersion or as a substantively dry powder, e.g., the primers may be provided in lyophilized form. 
     The features and advantages of the invention are more fully apparent from the following illustrative examples, which are not intended in any way to be limitingly construed, as regards the invention hereinafter claimed. 
     EXAMPLES 
     Materials and Methods 
     Preparation of Recombinant Chaperones 
       Pyrococcus furiosus  sHsp and Hsp60 were cloned, expressed and purified as previously described by Laksanalamai et al. and Emmerhoff et al., respectively (Emmerhoff et al. 1998; Laksanalamai et al. 2001). The genes encoding  P. furiosus  prefoldin alpha and beta subunits were identified based on the homology between the  P. furiosus  and  P. horikoshii  sequences (Okochi et at. 2002). 
     The prefoldin genes were amplified by PCR using the following primers: 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                 Alpha prefoldin a: 
                   
               
               
                   
                 5′ primer, 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                 (SEQ ID NO: 6) 
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                 C CATATG GAAAACAATAAGGAATTgGAAAAGGTTGCT; 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 3′, Primer, 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                 (SEQ ID NO: 7) 
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                 C CTCGAG TCACTTCTTAAGCTTGAAGCTCATTGCTTG, 
                   
               
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 beta prefoldin: 
               
               
                   
                 5′ primer 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                 (SEQ ID NO: 8) 
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                 C CATATG AATCCCAGGGTGTGCCAAGTGGATTTAGG 
                   
               
               
                   
                 and 
               
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 3′ primer, 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                 (SEQ ID NO: 9) 
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                 C CTCGAGT CATCCAGCGGTTGGAGGTCTTAGGGCTGCCTGAATC. 
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     The underlined letters indicate the restriction sites used for insertion. The PCR products were subsequently cloned into the expression vector, pET19b (Novagen) and transformed into BL21 competent cells (Novagen). The recombinant prefoldins were affinity purified on a nickel column (Ni-NTA, Qiagen) based on their N-terminal his-tags according to the product protocol. 
     Effect of the Small Heat Shock Protein on PCR Reactions 
     PCR reactions (45 ul final volume) were prepared as follows: IX Taq polymerase buffer (100 mM Tris-HCl, pH 9.0, 500 mM KCl and 15 mM MgCl 2 ), 1 mM dNTP, 1 uM each of forward and reverse primers, 20 nag of DNA template. A stock solution of Taq polymerase (5 U/ul, Cat: FB600030 Lot: 005975) was diluted five and ten fold to provide final concentrations of 0.025, 0.005 and 0.0025 U/ul in the PCR reactions. From a stock solution of a purified recombinant sHsp in Buffer A (25 mM potassium phosphate buffer, pH 7.0, 2 mM dithiothreitol and 1 mM EDTA) (Laksanalamai et al. 2001), sHsp was added to the PCR reaction providing a final concentration of 0.2 ug/ul. Control reactions without sHsp were performed with the addition of buffer A and water to adjust the total volume to 50 ul. The effect of sHsp on the concentration of Taq polymerase in the reaction mixtures was examined by PCR amplification with  P. furiosus  genomic DNA and a pair of primers that generate a 700 kb fragment. 
     Effect of Chaperones on Thermostability of Taq DNA Polymerase at 100° C. 
     Commercial Taq polymerase enzyme was diluted in 10 mM Tris-HCl pH 8.0 and 0.5 M NaCl to the final concentration of 0.5 U/ul in the presence of various combinations of the recombinant chaperones including individual subunits of prefoldin, prefoldin complex, Hsp60 and sHsp. Heat inactivation of the polymerase was carried out at 100° C. and the samples were removed at the indicated times. The residual activity of the polymerase was subsequently measured by quantitative primer extension assays. 25 ul mixtures were incubated in PTC-150 Monocycle (MJ.Research) at 100°. 3 ul samples were removed at defined times of incubation and assayed for primer extension activity. The primer-extension assay was performed with a fluorescent duplex substrate containing a primer-template junction (PTJ). The duplex was prepared by annealing a 5′-end labeled with fluoresce in 20-nt long primer with a 30-nt long template: 
     
       
         
         
             
             
         
       
     
     DNA polymerase reaction mixtures (15 ul) contained dATP, dTTP, dCTP and dGTP (1 mM each), 4.5 mM MgCl 2 , detergents Tween 20 and Nonidet P-40 (0.2% each), 0.2 uM PTJ, and appropriately diluted Taq polymerase. The primer extension was initiated by addition of the polymerase and carried out for 3 min at 70° C. in PTC-150 Minicycler (MJ Research). The extension products were applied on an ABI Prism 377 DNA sequencer (Applied BioSystems) and the fluorescent signals were analyzed as described in (Pavlov et al. 2002). 
     Results and Discussions 
     Taq DNA polymerase, an important enzyme in biotechnology (Dalton 1999; Dalton 2001; Pavlov et al. 2004), was used as a model substrate for examining the effects of chaperones on stability and durability of Taq polymerase, by incorporating chaperones into PCR reaction mixtures. 
     Enhancement of Taq Polymerase Performance in PCR Reactions by sHsp 
     The present inventor reported previously that the small heat shock protein (sHsp) from  Pyrococcus furiosus  (Pfu-sHsp) can prevent bovine glutamate dehydrogenase from aggregating at 50° C. (Laksanalamai et al 2001). During PCR reactions, the temperature fluctuates over a wide range, in this case, 50-95° C. Since the source of Taq polymerase is the thermophilic bacterium  Thermus aquaticus , with a maximal growth temperature of 70° C. (Nold and Ward 1995), exposure to 95° C. can lead to the denaturation of Taq DNA polymerase during extended cycling. This experiment was performed based on the hypothesis that sHsp provides thermal stability by preventing precipitation of denatured Taq polymerase, thus, allowing the polymerase to undergo spontaneous refolding. To test this, decreased starting concentrations of Taq polymerase were used to establish conditions in which DNA amplification was limited by enzyme availability. The final concentrations of Taq polymerase are 0.025, 0.005 and 0.0025 U/ul in the reactions. Controls were identical reactions without the addition of sHsp. 
     It was found that at a higher concentration of Taq polymerase (0.025 U/ul), PCR products are generated in both cases suggesting that sHsp does not interfere with the polymerase activity. Lower amounts of Taq polymerase molecules reduced the final amounts of PCR products visualized by gel electrophoresis ( FIG. 1 , lane 3 and 5) and that no detectable PCR products occurred in the PCR reaction with 0.0025 U/ul ( FIG. 1 , lane 7). With the addition of Pfu-sHsp, the level of PCR product was unaltered in the reactions with undiluted Taq polymerase and PCR products were still retained at 0.005 and 0.0025 U/ul of Taq polymerase ( FIG. 1 , lane 4 and 6, respectively). The visible PCR products in lanes 4 and 6 are convincing proof that Taq polymerase is extended by chaperone action. U.S. Pat. No. 6,579,703 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/390,292, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein, describe the use of heat shock proteins and truncated versions that do not require an ATP hydrolysis and are able to function as efficient passive chaperones without interfering with the polymerase activity of its target protein. This function resembles the stabilizing action of alpha-crystallins, which perform similar functions in eye lenses. Unlike the alpha-crystallin, sHsps can function at very high temperature. 
     Since a single chaperone improved PCR reactions by reducing the amount of Taq polymerase required, the cooperative effects of several  P. furiosus  molecular chaperones were examined on the apparent thermostability of Taq polymerase quantitatively by means of primer extension assays followed by product quantitation as previously described by Pavlov et al. (Pavlov et al. 2002). Combinations of the chaperones were used in the experiments including sHsp, Hsp60, and prefoldins. Hsp60/sHsp and Hsp-prefoldin combinations were tested for their ability to stabilize Taq polymerase. 
     Stabilization of Taq Polymerase by a Combination of sHsp and Hsp60 
     Since sHsps and Hsp60s are known to be passive and active protein chaperones respectively, it was theorized that sHsp retained denatured Taq polymerase in a soluble form and the soluble denatured proteins were subsequently refolded by Hsp60s.  FIG. 2 , open and closed circles, revealed that Taq polymerase was rapidly denatured at 100° C. and was reduced to less than 10% of the starting activity after 10 min of exposure to 100° C. with and without Mg 2+  and ATP. The combination of sHsp and Hsp60 was then used to study this hypothesis. The level of protection by the Hsp60 alone,  FIG. 2 , closed and open squares, was comparable to that of the sHsp alone ( FIG. 2 , crosses) and also consistent with the previous experiment. However, when both sHsp and Hsp60 were present without Mg 2+  and ATP, 80% of the initial polymerase activity was observed ( FIG. 2 , open diamonds) whereas 100% polymerase activity remained in the reaction at 10 min with the addition of Mg 2+  and ATP ( FIG. 2 , closed diamonds) 
     Stabilization of Taq Polymerase by a Combination of Prefoldin and Hsp60 
     Since  P. furiosus  has two non-identical prefoldin subunits, the individual subunits of prefoldin (alpha and beta) were studied individually and the prefoldin complex. It was found that the levels of protection of Taq polymerase by prefoldin beta and prefoldin complex alone ( FIG. 3 , closed triangles and crosses) were comparable to those of the controls with the addition of Mg 2+  and ATP or without the addition of chaperones ( FIG. 3 , closed and open circles, respectively). Surprisingly, the addition of the prefoldin alpha destabilized the Taq polymerase ( FIG. 3 , open triangles) compared to the denaturation of Taq polymerase without chaperones presented ( FIG. 3 , open and closed circles). The Hsp60 alone caused a slight improvement of approximately 2 fold compared to controls ( FIG. 3  closed and open squares, respectively). This effect occurred both with and without the addition of Mg 2+  and ATP. In the presence of the Hsp60 and prefoldin complex, 60% of the DNA polymerase activity was retained after 10 min at 100° C. without ATP ( FIG. 3 , open diamonds) whereas 95% of the polymerase activity was retained in the complete reaction with Mg 2+  and ATP ( FIG. 3  closed diamonds). 
     The above-described results established that the  P. furiosus  chaperones in vitro can function together. It appears that co-chaperones such as prefoldin or sHsp are essential for optimal Hsp60 turnover as they facilitate its performance by five fold ( FIGS. 2 and 3 ). Taq polymerase was used because it is a crucial enzyme in biotechnology applications such as PCR and cycle sequencing, as a model enzyme. This evidence indicates that chaperones from hyperthermophiles have potential applications in biotechnology. Using these chaperones from hyperthermophilic organisms could potentially improve a wide range of biotechnology applications demanding prolonged enzyme function at elevated temperatures. 
     In addition to these biotechnology applications, the present results could also define the protein folding pathways in  P. furiosus . The present results indicated that prefoldins and sHsps have analogous roles as they both improve the efficiency of Hsp60 catalysis. Hsp60 and prefoldin subunits in  P. furiosus  are constitutively expressed (data not shown) whereas the sHsp is highly induced by heat shock treatment at 105° C. (Laksanalamai et al. 2001). In addition, after  P. furiosus  cells are removed from heat shock conditions and restored to growth conditions (95° C.), the levels of mRNA and protein appear to decrease rapidly as detected by Northern and Western blot, respectively (Laksanalamai, Lowe and Robb, unpublished results). This suggested that the co-chaperone functions of the prefoldins and Hsp60 may be sufficient for cells to contain protein folding problems at their normal growth temperature whereas elevated levels of sHsp may be required in addition to the prefoldins under heat shock conditions 
     REFERENCES 
     All references cited herein are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety and for all purposes to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.
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