Cloning and Expression of a Collagenase Gene from the Marine Bacterium Vibrio vulnificus CYK279H

A gene encoding an extracellular collagenase from the marine bacterium Vibrio vulnificus CYK279H was cloned into E. coli JM83 using the multicopy plasmid vector pUC19. The cloned strain of recombinant E. coli showing collagenase activity had an insert fragment of 3.5 kb and was named E. coli JM83/pKCL 279H. The cloned strain produced two different collagenase during cultivation. These enzymes, named collagenase-I and -II, were purified from the culture supernatant. SDS-PAGE indicated that collagenase-I had a molecular weight of 41 kDa and collagenase-II had a weight of 37 kDa. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of collagenase-I from the cloned strain, E. coli JM83/pKCL279H was determined and was not found to be similar to any other known collagenases. The optimum pH and temperature of the purified collagenase-I were 7.8 and $37^{\circ}C$, respectively.