FIREFLY LUCIFERASE AND GENE THEREOF, AND PROCESS FOR PRODUCTION OF FIREFLY LUCIFERASE

摘要

Disclosed are: a firefly luciferase having excellent thermal stability and/or storage stability; and a process for producing the firefly luciferase. Specifically disclosed are: a firefly luciferase characterized by comprising an amino acid sequence that is produced by substituting an amino acid residue located at position-287 by an alanine residue or mutating an amino acid residue located at position-392 by an isoleucine residue in the amino acid sequencer for a Japanese firefly Luciola lateralis; and a gene for the firefly luciferase. The use of the gene enables the efficient production of a firefly luciferase having improved stability. The above-mentioned mutation may be combined with a mutation produced by substituting an amino acid residue located at position-326 by a serine residue and/or a mutation produced by substituting an amino acid residue located at position-467 by an isoleucine residue in the same amino acid sequence, thereby producing a firefly luciferase having further improved stability.