Effect of the regulation system of metabolic nitrogen exchange on biosynthesis of serine proteinases from Bacillus intermedius

The regulatory link between biosynthesis of Bacillus intermedius subtilisin-like serine proteinase and nitrogen metabolism in B. intermedius cells was determined. The level of the enzyme biosynthesis by the recombinant strain of Bacillus subtilis in the medium containing ammonium ions was three- to fivefold less than that in the medium with poorly utilized sodium nitrate. Accumulation of glutamyl endopeptidase in a culture liquid of this microorganism did not depend on the source of nitrogen present in the medium. During cultivation in the rich medium, the productivity of subtilisin-like proteinase in the recombinant B. subtilis strain carrying a mutation in the NrgB sensor protein was demonstrated to increase threefold compared to that of the control strain. In the minimal culture medium, mutation in the nrgB gene abolished the effect of a nitrogen source on the level of the subtilisin-like proteinase gene expression. At the same time, this mutation did not affect glutamyl endopeptidase biosynthesis. Thus, expression of the gene coding for subtilisin-like proteinase from B.intermedius is suggested to be positively regulated by the regulatory system of nitrogen metabolism.