Alternative processing of proproteins in Aspergilli kexB gene disruptants under hyperosmotic conditions.

Disruption of the kexB gene encoding a subtilisin-like processing protease in Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus nidulans led to remarkable morphological defects, and these phenotypes were suppressed under hyperosmotic conditions. In this study, we investigated to determine whether non-KexB proteases might complement the in vivo function of KexB in the two Aspergillus kexB disruptants. Neither overexpression of opsA or opsB encoding A.