SUBTILASES - THE SUPERFAMILY OF SUBTILISIN-LIKE SERINE PROTEASES

Subtilases are members of the dan (or superfamily) of subtilisin-like serine proteases. Over 200 subtilases are presently known, more than 1 70 of which with their complete amino acid sequence. In this update of our previous overview (Siezen RJ, de Vos WM, Leunissen JAM, Dijkstra BW, 1991, Protein Eng 4:719-731), details of more than 100 new subtila ses discovered in the past five years are summarized, and amino acid s equences of their catalytic domains are compared in a multiple sequenc e alignment. Based on sequence homology, a subdivision into six famili es is proposed. Highly conserved residues of the catalytic domain are identified, as are large or unusual deletions and insertions. Predicti ons have been updated for Ca2+-binding sites, disulfide bonds, and sub strate specificity, based on both sequence alignment and three-dimensi onal homology modeling.