KINETICS OF THE UNFOLDING-FOLDING TRANSITION OF BACILLUS-SUBTILIS LEVANSUCRASE PRECURSOR

The reversible folding-unfolding transition of mature and precursor fo rms of Bacillus subtilis levansucrase were compared under physiologica l conditions of pH and temperature. The time constant of the folding r eaction was not modified by the presence of the signal sequence and th e precursor in the native form was slightly more resistant to the dena turing action of urea. However, the folding pathway could be different for each protein since a domain of the mature levansucrase underwent an independent transition which is not observed during the renaturatio n process of prelevansucrase.