Sequence of the gene encoding an alkaline serine protease of thermophilic Bacillus smithii

The complete nucleotide sequence of the gene encoding an alkaline serine protease from Bacillus smithii has been determined. Degenerate oligodeoxyribonucleotide primers were used to prime the amplification of a 507-bp sequence of the gene. This sequence was successively used for constructing new primers applied in inverse polymerase chain reaction, using as template self-ligated DNA fragments. The deduced amino-acid sequence is compared to serine proteases from B. amyloliquefaciens, B. licheniformis, B. subtilis and Thermus aquaticus.