C. Cavadini et al., STABLE EXPRESSION OF THE LYSOSTAPHIN GENE IN MEAT LACTOBACILLI BY INTRODUCING DELETIONS WITHIN THE PROSEQUENCE, Systematic and applied microbiology, 19(1), 1996, pp. 21-27
The lys gene of Staphylococcus simulans encoding preprolysostaphin was
cloned into Lactobacillus curvatus and Lactobacillus sake. For stable
expression of the gene and its maintenance in the host, it was requir
ed to delete parts of the repetitive sequences in the region coding fo
r the prosequence. The various clones expressing different deletion de
rivatives of lys produced bacteriolytic activity which induced lysis o
f growing as well as heat inactivated staphylococcal cells. Lysostaphi
n iras released into the medium as a truncated proenzyme which was pro
cessed to multiple species of active proteins of different molecular m
asses including the mature lysostaphin. The number of these forms corr
elated with the number of repeats remaining in the various proenzymes.