title: The wprA gene of Bacillus subtilis 168, expressed during exponential growth, encodes a cell-wall-associated protease.
abstract: The nucleotide sequence of wprA, a protease-encoding gene of Bacillus subtilis 168, is reported. The gene, expressed during the exponential growth phase, belongs to a monocistronic operon. WprA is a 96 kDa polypeptide endowed with a signal peptide, as well as a propeptide. Upon processing and export, it gives rise to two previously identified cell-wall-bound proteins, CWBP23 and 52. Processing of WprA exhibits a novel feature of protein export, whereby removal of the middle part of the molecule accompanies the targeting to the cell wall of its N- and C-terminal parts, which correspond to CWBP23 and 52, respectively. Sequence analyses and enzymic assays reveal that CWBP52 is a serine protease. Growth rate, cell morphology, sporulation and motility of wprA mutants apparently do not differ from those of the parent strain.
authors.affiliation: Institut de génétique et de biologie microbiennes, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Margot
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Karamata
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001483:Base Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000201:enzymology; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D010450:Endopeptidases / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009876:Operon; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases; D013381:Subtilisins / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D010450:Endopeptidases; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases; D013381:Subtilisins; C104015:WprA protein, Bacillus subtilis