UBIQUITIN-SPECIFIC PROTEASE

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a ubiquitin-specific protease which specifically cleaves at the C-terminus of the ubiquitin moiety in a ubiquitin fusion protein irrespective of the size of the ubiquitin fusion protein. SOLUTION: This generic class of ubiquitin-specific protease, more specifically, a ubiquitin-specific protease of this class which has been isolated from a cell, is provided. An isolated DNA sequence encoding the protease of this class is also provided. One useful property of ubiquitin-specific proteases is that they cleave ubiquitin from its C-terminal extensions irrespective of the identity of the extension's residue adjacent to the cleavage site; this property of the Ubp proteases enables a method with applications in both basic research and biotechnology for the in vivo or in vitro generation of proteins or peptides bearing predetermined N-terminal residues.