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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, February 1999, p. 611-617, Vol. 65, No. 2
Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto
University, Uji, Kyoto-Fu 611, Japan
Received 22 June 1998/Accepted 12 October 1998
The gene encoding serine alkaline protease (SapSh) of the
psychrotrophic bacterium Shewanella strain Ac10 was cloned
in Escherichia coli. The amino acid sequence deduced from
the 2,442-bp nucleotide sequence revealed that the protein was 814 amino acids long and had an estimated molecular weight of 85,113. SapSh
exhibited sequence similarities with members of the subtilisin family
of proteases, and there was a high level of conservation in the regions
around a putative catalytic triad consisting of Asp-30, His-65, and
Ser-369. The amino acid sequence contained the following regions which were assigned on the basis of homology to previously described sequences: a signal peptide (26 residues), a propeptide (117 residues), and an extension up to the C terminus (about 250 residues). Another feature of SapSh is the fact that the space between His-65 and Ser-369
is approximately 150 residues longer than the corresponding spaces in
other proteases belonging to the subtilisin family. SapSh was purified
to homogeneity from the culture supernatant of E. coli
recombinant cells by affinity chromatography with a bacitracin-Sepharose column. The recombinant SapSh (rSapSh) was found
to have a molecular weight of about 44,000 and to be highly active in
the alkaline region (optimum pH, around 9.0) when azocasein and
synthetic peptides were used as substrates. rSapSh was characterized by
its high levels of activity at low temperatures; it was five times more
active than subtilisin Carlsberg at temperatures ranging from 5 to
15°C. The activation energy for hydrolysis of azocasein by rSapSh was
much lower than the activation energy for hydrolysis of azocasein by
the subtilisin. However, rSapSh was far less stable than the subtilisin.
0099-2240/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Cold-Active Serine Alkaline Protease from the
Psychrotrophic Bacterium Shewanella Strain Ac10: Gene
Cloning and Enzyme Purification and Characterization
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institute for
Chemical Research, Kyoto University, Uji, Kyoto-Fu 611-0011, Japan.
Phone: 81-774-38-3240. Fax: 81-774-38-3248. E-mail:
esaki{at}scl.kyoto-u.ac.jp.
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