• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.116-121
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• 1991

A bacterial strain KN, which highly produced a protease, was isolated from several soil samples and identified to to belong to the genus Bacillus. We selected mutant strain Bacillus sp. KN103N, which was hyperproducer of protease and was resistant to D-cyclowerine, from the strain KN by several steps of mutagenesis. Neutral protease productivity of mutant strain KN103N was about 55 times as much as that of the original strain KN. The optimum pH and temperature for the enzyme activity were 7.0 and 50$^{\circ}C$, respectively and the enzyme was relatively stable at pH6.0~8.0 and below 40$^{\circ}C$. The enzyme was inactivated by EDTA, but not by DFP. These results indicate that the enzyme from Bacillus sp. KN103N was a neutral (metallo-) protease.