Penicillinase-releasing protease of Bacillus licheniformis: purification and general properties.

The membrane penicillinase of Bacillus licheniformis 749/C is a phospholipoprotein which differs from the exoenzyme in that it has an additional sequence of 24 amino acid residues and a phosphatidylserine at the NH2 terminus. In exponential-phase cultures, the conversion of membrane penicillinase to exoenzyme occurs at neutral and alkaline pH. An enzyme that will cleave the membrane penicillinase to yield the exoenzyme is present (in small amounts) in exponential-phase cells and is released during their conversion to protoplasts. The enzyme is found in the filtrate of a stationary-phase culture of the uninduced penicillinase-inducible strain 749 and has been purified to apparent homogeneity from this source. The protease has an approximate molecular weight of 21,500 and requires Ca2+ ions for stabilization. It has a pH optimum of 7.0 to 9.5 for hydrolysis of casein and for the cleavage of membrane penicillinase. Both activities are inhibited by diisopropylfluorophosphate; hence, the enzyme is a serine protease. This enzyme may be entirely responsible for the formation of exopenicillinase by this organism, since the other neutral and alkaline proteases of strain 749 have little, if any, activity in releasing exopenicillinase. The enzyme has been termed penicillinase-releasing protease.