Meury J
Institut Jacques Monod, Paris, France.
FEMS Microbiol Lett. 1994 Mar 1;116(3):287-91. doi: 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1994.tb06717.x.
When a strain of Escherichia coli, expressing a hybrid protein GalK-beta-Gal, is shifted to high osmolarity, the beta-galactosidase activity strongly decreases within 20 min of shock. The loss of beta-galactosidase activity results from degradation of the hybrid protein under osmotic stress. The results raise the possibility that osmotic stress induces a specific osmodependent protease.