EFFECT OF CULTURE CONDITIONS ON THE PRODUCTION OF AN EXTRACELLULAR PROTEINASE BY THERMUS SP RT41A

Thermus sp. Rt41A produced a single extracellular proteinase, as determined by fast protein liquid chromatography and isoelectric focusing. Proteinase activity was expressed from very early in the log phase, and halted when the growth substrate was exhausted. There was no continued proteinase production in the stationary phase. Proteinase production was not stimulated by O-2 limitation, not repressed by amino acid growth substrates, and its production could not be correlated to the type or oxidation state of the carbon and energy source or the growth rate on different carbon and energy sources. Growth on certain substrates, e.g. glutamate and glucose, resulted in production of high levels of proteinase, whereas others, such as acetate, resulted in low proteinase levels. Acetate repressed proteinase production in cultures growing on L-glutamate. In continuous culture on L-glutamate, acetate or pyruvate, proteinase production was highest at higher growth (dilution) rates. The kinetics of proteinase production in continuous culture on L-glutamate can be interpreted as evidence for the constitutive nature of proteinase expression by Thermus sp. Rt41A. The data obtained show that the control of proteinase production is different to that postulated for Thermus sp. Ok6.A1.