An alkaline serine-proteinase from a bacterium isolated from bat feces: purification and characterization.

An alkaline serine-proteinase from Bacillus sp. PN51 isolated from bat feces collected in Phang Nga, Thailand, was purified and characterized. The molecular mass was estimated to be 35.0 kDa. The N-terminal 25 amino acid sequence was about 70% identical with that of Natrialba magadii halolysin-like extracellular serine protease. The enzyme showed the highest proteinase activity at 60 degrees C at pH 10.0. The activity was strongly inhibited by PMSF and chymostatin. The proteinase activity was not affected by the presence of 2% urea, 2% H(2)O(2), 12% SDS, 15% triton X-100, or 15% tween 80. The proteinase preferred Met, Leu, Phe, and Tyr residues at the P(1) position, in descending order. The k(cat), K(m) and k(cat)/K(m) values for Z-Val-Lys-Met-MCA were 16.8+/-0.14 min(-1), 5.1+/-0.28 microM, and 3.3+/-0.28 microM(-1) min(-1) respectively. This is the first report of an alkaline serine-proteinase with extremely high stability against detergents such as SDS.