Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Dec;69(6):2599-2616.
doi: 10.1002/bab.2309. Epub 2022 Feb 3.

Versatility of subtilisin: A review on structure, characteristics, and applications

Nur Aliyah Mohd Azrin  1 , Mohd Shukuri Mohamad Ali  1   2 , Raja Noor Zaliha Raja Abd Rahman  1   3 , Siti Nurbaya Oslan  1   2   4 , Noor Dina Muhd Noor  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Versatility of subtilisin: A review on structure, characteristics, and applications

Nur Aliyah Mohd Azrin et al. Biotechnol Appl Biochem. 2022 Dec.

Abstract

Due to its thermostability and high pH compatibility, subtilisin is most known for its role as an additive for detergents in which it is categorized as a serine protease according to MEROPS database. Subtilisin is typically isolated from various bacterial species of the Bacillus genus such as Bacillus subtilis, B. amyloliquefaciens, B. licheniformis, and various other organisms. It is composed of 268-275 amino acid residues and is initially secreted in the precursor form, preprosubtilisin, which is composed of 29-residues signal peptide, 77-residues propeptide, and 275-residues active subtilisin. Subtilisin is known for the presence of high and low affinity calcium binding sites in its structure. Native subtilisin has general properties of thermostability, tolerance to neutral to high pH, broad specificity, and calcium-dependent stability, which contribute to the versatility of subtilisin applicability. Through protein engineering and immobilization technologies, many variants of subtilisin have been generated, which increase the applicability of subtilisin in various industries including detergent, food processing and packaging, synthesis of inhibitory peptides, therapeutic, and waste management applications.

Keywords: MEROPS database; applications; protein engineering; serine protease; subtilisin.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Rozanov AS, Shekhovtsov SV, Bogacheva NV, Pershina EG, Ryapolova AV, Bytyak DS, et al. Production of subtilisin proteases in bacteria and yeast. Vavilovskii Zhurnal Genetiki i Selektsii. 2021;25:125-34. https://doi.org/10.18699/VJ21.015.
    1. Rawlings ND, Barrett AJ, Thomas PD, Huang X, Bateman A, Finn RD. The MEROPS database of proteolytic enzymes, their substrates and inhibitors in 2017 and a comparison with peptidases in the PANTHER database. Nucleic Acids Res. 2018;46:D624-32. https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkx1134.
    1. Mótyán J, Tóth F, Tözsér J, Research applications of proteolytic enzymes in molecular biology. Biomolecules. 2013;3:923-42. https://doi.org/10.3390/biom3040923.
    1. Sakamoto Y, Suzuki Y, Iizuka I, Tateoka C, Roppongi S, Fujimoto M, et al. S46 peptidases are the first exopeptidases to be members of clan PA. Sci Rep. 2014;4:1-12. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep04977.
    1. Boon L, Ugarte-Berzal E, Vandooren J, Opdenakker G, Protease propeptide structures, mechanisms of activation, and functions. Crit Rev Biochem Mol Biol. 2020;55:111-65. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409238.2020.1742090.

LinkOut - more resources