Calcium‐independent subtilisin by design

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Abstract
A version of subtilisin BPN′ lacking the high affinity calcium site (site A) has been produced through genetic engineering methods, and its crystal structure refined at 1.8 Å resolution. This protein and the corresponding version containing the calcium A site are describedand compared. The deletion of residues 75–83 was made in the context of four site‐specific replacements previously shown to stabilize subtilisin. The helix that in wild type is interrupted by the calcium binding loop, is continuous in the deletion mutant, with normal geometry. A few residues adjacent to the loop, principally those that were involved in calcium coordination, are repositioned and/or destabilized by the deletion. Because refolding is greatly facilitated by the absence of the Caloop, this proteinoffers a new vehicle for analysis and dissection of the folding reaction. This is among the largest internal changes to a protein to be described at atomic resolution. © Wiley‐Liss, Inc.