Plastid proteolytic processing enzyme that cleaves precursor polypeptides

摘要

A new soluble plastid processing enzyme is purified and characterized. cDNAs encoding the enzyme are isolated, allowing recombinant production of the enzyme. The enzyme cleaves precursor polypeptides that are targeted to organelles such as the chloroplasts. The enzyme is useful to produce mature, active proteins in vivo or in vitro. An example of the enzyme is a chloroplast processing enzyme (CPE) with specificity for cleavage that produces functional proteins.