Proteolysin, a Novel Highly Thermostable and Cosolvent-Compatible Protease from the Thermophilic Bacterium Coprothermobacter proteolyticus

Through genome mining, we identified a gene encoding a putative serine protease of the thermitase subgroup of subtilases (EC 3.4.21.66) in the thermophilic bacterium Coprothermobacter proteolyticus. The gene was functionally expressed in Escherichia coli, and the enzyme, which we called proteolysin, was purified to near homogeneity from crude cell lysate by a single heat treatment step. Proteolysin has a broad pH tolerance and is active at...