Characterization of a novel thermostable nuclease homolog (NucM) in a highly divergent Staphylococcus aureus clade.

A thermostable nuclease homologue (NucM) in an animal-associated divergent clade of Staphylococcus aureus in sub-Saharan Africa has a highly divergent nucleotide sequence compared to those of the classical nuc1 and nuc2 genes of S. aureus. Its deduced amino acid sequences, tertiary structures, and nuclease activities, however, are similar.