Nucleotide sequence of the gene encoding the precursor protein of pepstatin insensitive acid protease B, scytalidopepsin B, from Scytalidium lignicolum.

A chromosomal DNA of Scytalidium lignicolum was digested with Sau3AI. The digest was self-ligated and amplified by inverse PCR procedure using primers designed based on the nucleotide sequences of up- and down-stream regions of an intron present in the scytalidopepsin B gene. Analysis of the nucleotide sequence of PCR product (700 bp) showed that the enzyme is synthesized as a precursor protein consisting of the prepro- and mature enzyme regions. The deduced amino acid sequence was highly similar to those of aspergillopepsin A and recently reported endothiapepsins B and C, but quite different from those of pepstatin-insensitive bacterial acid proteases and the pepstatin-sensitive aspartic protease family.