Beschreibung:
<jats:sec><jats:label /><jats:p>The collagenase secreted by <jats:italic>Grimontia hollisae</jats:italic> strain 1706B is a 74 kDa protein that consists of two parts: the catalytic module and a C‐terminal segment that includes the bacterial pre‐peptidase C‐terminal domain. Here, we produced a recombinant C‐terminal segment protein and examined its ability to bind collagen and other characteristics as compared with collagen‐binding domains (<jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CBD</jats:styled-content>s) derived from <jats:italic>Hathewaya histolytica</jats:italic> (<jats:italic>Clostridium histolyticum</jats:italic>) collagenases; these <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CBD</jats:styled-content>s are the only ones thus far identified in bacterial collagenases. We found that the C‐terminal segment binds to collagen only when the collagen is in its triple‐helical conformation. Moreover, the C‐terminal segment and the <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CBD</jats:styled-content>s from <jats:italic>H. histolytica</jats:italic> have comparable characteristics, including binding affinity to type I collagen, substrate spectrum, and binding conditions with respect to salt concentration and <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">pH</jats:styled-content>. However, the C‐terminal segment has a completely different primary structure from those of the <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CBD</jats:styled-content>s from <jats:italic>H. histolytica</jats:italic>. As regards secondary structure, <jats:italic>in silico</jats:italic> prediction indicates that the C‐terminal segment may be homologous to those in <jats:styled-content style="fixed-case">CBD</jats:styled-content>s from <jats:italic>H. histolytica</jats:italic>. Furthermore, we performed collagenase assays using fluorescein isothiocyanate‐labeled type I collagen to show that the C‐terminal segment positively contributes to the collagenolytic activity of the 74 kDa collagenase from <jats:italic>G. hollisae</jats:italic>.</jats:p></jats:sec>