Structural and functional characteristics of ATP-dependent Lon-proteinase from Escherichia coli

Enzymic and structural peculiarities of the ATP-dependent Lon protease from Escherichia coli and its mutant and modified forms were studied. Amino acid residues important for the function of proteolytic and ATPase sites and for the transmission of the interdomain signals of the activity coupling were found. It was shown that the protein substrates are hydrolyzed only by the full-size enzyme, whereas the isolated proteolytic domain displays a peptide-hydrolyzing activity.