Secretory production of prosubtilisin YaB by a six extracellular protease-deficient mutant of Bacillus subtilis

Subtilisin YaB, produced by alkalophilic Bacillus strain YaB, is an extracellular alkaline serine protease having 55% homology to subtilisin BPN'. It is synthesized as a 378-amino acid preproenzyme and secreted into the culture medium as a 265-amino acid mature protease. To examine the role of pro-sequence for the secretion of subtilisin YaB, we have studied the expression, in Bacillus subtilis, of a mutant preprosubtilisin YaB in which active site Ser214 is substituted with Cys. The use of a six protease-deficient strain, WB600, was required for its efficient production. The prosubtilisin YaB, thus produced, was indeed secreted into the culture medium and was processed to its mature form upon treatment with exogenously added active subtilisin YaB. From these results, we have concluded that the processing of pro-sequence is not essential for the secretion of the enzyme.