Random mutagenesis has been used to engineer the protease subtilisin E to function in a highly nonnatural environment--high concentrations of a polar organic solvent. Sequential rounds of mutagenesis and screening have yielded a variant (PC3) that hydrolyzes a peptide substrate 256 times more efficiently than wild-type subtilisin in 60% dimethylformamide. PC3 subtilisin E and other variants con...

The process of human erythrocyte invasion by Plasmodium falciparum parasites involves a calcium-dependent serine protease with properties consistent with a subtilisin-like activity. This enzyme achieves the last crucial maturation step of merozoite surface protein 1 (MSP1) necessary for parasite entry into the host erythrocyte. In eukaryotic cells, such processing steps are performed by subtili...

Occupational exposure limits (OELs) together with determined airborne exposures are used in risk assessment based managements of occupational exposures to prevent occupational diseases. In most countries, OELs have only been set for few protein-containing aerosols causing IgE-mediated allergies. They comprise aerosols of flour dust, grain dust, wood dust, natural rubber latex, and the subtilisi...

The solvent perturbation behavior and acetylation characteristics of the tyrosine residues in the subtilisins have been examined. The availability of the phenolic side chains both to acetylation and solvent is high, in agreement with the proposed x-ray structure for subtilisin BPN’. Spectroscopic studies on N, 0-diacetyltyrosine, N-acetyltyrosine, and 3-nitrotyrosine in water-dioxane mixtures s...

BACKGROUND Nattokinases/Subtilisins (EC 3.4.21.62) belong to the second large family of serine proteases, which gain significant attention and play important role in many biotechnology processes. Thus, a number of nattokinases/subtilisins from various Bacillus species, especially from B. subtilis strains, extensively have been investigated to understand their biochemical and physical properties...

aprX is a 1326 bp gene of Bacillus subtilis strain 168 that encodes a serine protease, probably intracellular, characterized by significant similarity with subtilisins, thermitases and pyrolysins. Transcription analysis, performed by RT-PCR and primer extension, allowed the localization of the active promoter and showed that aprX is expressed in stationary phase. The pattern of expression of ap...