• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제20권5호
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• pp.881-888
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• 2010

solvent-tolerant bacterium strain, MH6, was isolated by hydrophilic organic solvent DMSO enrichment in the medium and identified as Serratia marcescens. The extracellular protease with novel organic-solvent-stable properties from strain MH6 was purified and characterized. The molecular mass of the purified protease was estimated to be 52 kDa on SDS-PAGE. The open reading frame (ORF) of the MH6 protease encoded 504 amino acids with 471 amino acid residues in the mature protease. Based on the inhibitory effects of EDTA and 1,10-phenathroline, the MH6 protease was characterized as a metalloproteinase. The enzyme activity was increased in the presence of $Ni^{2+}$, $Mg^{2+}$, and $Ca^{2+}$. The protease could also be activated by the nonionic surfactants Tween 80 (1.0%) and Triton X-100 (1.0%). The protease showed remarkable solvent stability in the presence of 50% (v/v) solutions of long-chain alkanes and long-chain alcohols. It was also fairly stable in the presence of 25% solutions of hydrophilic organic solvents. Owing to its high stability in solvents and surfactants, the MH6 protease is an ideal candidate for applications in organic catalysis and other related fields.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제21권2호
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• pp.129-135
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• 2011

Cloning and characterization of the gene encoding a solvent-tolerant protease from the haloalkaliphilic bacterium Geomicrobium sp. EMB2 are described. Primers designed based on the N-terminal amino acid sequence of the purified EMB2 protease helped in the amplification of a 1,505-bp open reading frame that had a coding potential of a 42.7-kDa polypeptide. The deduced EMB2 protein contained a 35.4-kDa mature protein of 311 residues, with a high proportion of acidic amino acid residues. Phylogenetic analysis placed the EMB2 gene close to a known serine protease from Bacillus clausii KSM-K16. Primary sequence analysis indicated a hydrophobic inclination of the protein; and the 3D structure modeling elucidated a relatively higher percentage of small (glycine, alanine, and valine) and borderline (serine and threonine) hydrophobic residues on its surface. The structure analysis also highlighted enrichment of acidic residues at the cost of basic residues. The study indicated that solvent and salt stabilities in Geomicrobium sp. protease may be accorded to different structural features; that is, the presence of a number of small hydrophobic amino acid residues on the surface and a higher content of acidic amino acid residues, respectively.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제24권2호
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• pp.197-208
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• 2014

A novel protease gene from Bacillus gibsonii, aprBG, was cloned, expressed in B. subtilis, and characterized. High-level expression of aprBG was achieved in the recombinant strain when a junction was present between the promoter and the target gene. The purified recombinant enzyme exhibited similar N-terminal sequences and catalytic properties to the native enzyme, including high affinity and hydrolytic efficiency toward various substrates and a superior performance when exposed to various metal ions, surfactants, oxidants, and commercial detergents. AprBG was remarkably stable in 50% organic solvents and retained 100% activity and stability in 0-4 M NaCl, which is better than the characteristics of previously reported proteases. AprBG was most closely related to the high-alkaline proteases of the subtilisin family with a 57-68% identity. The secretion and maturation mechanism of AprBG was dependent on the enzyme activity, as analyzed by site-directed mutagenesis. Thus, when taken together, the results revealed that the halo-solvent-tolerant protease AprBG displays significant activity and stability under various extreme conditions, indicating its potential for use in many biotechnology applications.