Purification and some characteristics of a calcium-binding protein from Bacillus cereus spores

Summary: A novel calcium-binding protein has been purified from the dormant spores of Bacillus cereus T. Purity of this protein was verified by SDS-PAGE and reversed-phase HPLC. Its calcium-binding ability was verified by a competitive calcium-binding assay using Chelex-100 resin and 45Ca autoradiography. The protein is heat-stable and is retained by hydrophobic matrices (phenyl-Sepharose) in a calcium-dependent manner. SDS-PAGE and amino acid composition indicate the molecular mass of the protein to be 24 kDa.