Translational and post-translational cleavage of M13 procoat protein: extracts of both the cytoplasmic and outer membranes of Escherichia coli contain leader peptidase activity.

The coat protein of coliphage M13 is an integral protein of the host cytoplasmic membrane at all stages of the infectious cycle. Both in in vivo and DNA-directed in vitro synthesis, it is initially made with an NH2-terminal "leader peptide" of 23 amino acids and is termed procoat. We now report that leader peptidase, and activity which removes the leader peptide and converts procoat to coat, is found in both the inner (cytoplasmic) and outer membrane of Escherichia coli. However, only cytoplasmic membranes will catalyze cleavage of procoat in the absence of detergent. Leader peptidase will cleave procoat either during translation or after protein synthesis is complete.