Isolation and Characterization of a New Extracellular Bacteriolytic Endopeptidase of Lysobacter sp. XL1

The previously unstudied bacteriolytic enzyme L(4) was isolated from the culture liquid of the bacterium Lysobacter sp. XL1 in electrophoretically homogeneous state. The enzyme L(4) is a diaminopimelinoyl-alanine endopeptidase relative to peptidoglycan of Lysobacter sp. XL1. The enzyme is an alkaline protein of approximately 21 kD. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the enzyme has been determined - A V V N G V N Y V Gx T T A ... The maximal activity of the enzyme was observed in 0.05 M Tris-HCl at pH 8.0 and 50-55 degrees C. The half-inactivation temperature of the enzyme is 52 degrees C. The endopeptidase L(4) is not a metalloenzyme since it is not affected by EDTA. The enzyme is inhibited by p-chloromercuribenzoic acid by 72% and by phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride by 43%, which indicates the involvement of serine and thiol groups in its functioning.