Secretion by overexpression and purification of the water-soluble Streptomyces K15 DD-transpeptidase/penicillin-binding protein.

Though synthesized with a cleavable signal peptide and devoid of membrane anchors, the 262-amino-acid-residue Streptomyces K15 DD-transpeptidase/penicillin-binding protein is membrane-bound. Overexpression in Streptomyces lividans resulted in the export of an appreciable amount of the synthesized protein (4 mg/litre of culture supernatant). The water-soluble enzyme was purified close to protein homogeneity with a yield of 75%.

Amino acid sequence of the penicillin-binding protein/DD-peptidase of Streptomyces K15. Predicted secondary structures of the low Mr penicillin-binding proteins of class A.

The low-Mr penicillin-binding protein (PBP)/DD-transpeptidase of Streptomyces K15 is synthesized in the form of a 291-amino acid-residue precursor possessing a cleavable 29-amino acid-residue signal peptide. Sequence-similarity searches and hydrophobic-cluster analysis show that the Streptomyces K15 enzyme, the Escherichia coli PBPs/DD-carboxy-peptidases 5 and 6, the Bacillus subtilis PBP/DD-carboxypeptidase 5 and the spoIIA product (a putative PBP involved in the sporulation of B. subtilis) are structurally related and form a distinct class A of low-Mr PBPs/DD-peptidases.