Abstract
The spr D gene encoding Strptomyces griseus protease D(SGPD); a chymotrypsin-like proteae, was cloned from Strptomyces griseus IFO13350 and sequence. Most of the amino-acid sequence deduced from the nucleotide sequence is idential to that Strptomyces griseus IMRU3499 except that one amino acid has been deleted and Trp 369 has been substituted into Cys369 in the SGPD from S. griseus IFO13350 without affecting the protease activity. The spr D gene was overexpressed in Streptomyce liv-idans TK24 as a heterologous host. Various media with different compositions were also used to max-imize the productivity of SGPD inthe heterologous host. The SGPD productivity was best when the transformant S. lividans TK24 was cultivated in R2YE medium. The relative chymotrypsin activity of the culture broth measured with an artificial chromogenic substrate, N-scuccinyl-ala-ala-pro-phe-p-nitroanilide, was 16 units/ml. A high level of SGPD was also produced in YEME and SAAM medial but it was relatively lower that in R2YE medium and negligible amounts of SGPD were produced in GYE, GAE and Benedict media. The growth of S. lividans reacted the maximum level of cell mass at days 3 and 4 of the culture, but SGPD production started in the stationary phase of cell growth and kept increase in till the 10$^{th}$ day of culture in R2YE and YEME medium, but in GYE media the productivity reached maximum level at 8days of cultivation. The introduction of the spr D gene into S. lividans TK24 triggered biosyntheis of the pigmented antibiotic , actinorhodin, which implies some protease may paly a very improtant role in secondary-metabolite formation in sStreptomyces.
