Message-Id: <199701221947.NAA01592@wugate.wustl.edu>
Date: Wed, 22 Jan 1997 13:46:55 -0500
From: crank@pharmdec.wustl.edu (Mark Crankshaw)
Subject: Re: Prot Seq: Astacus protease
To: Recipients of ABRF List <abrf@aecom.yu.edu>
>Hello all,
> A number of years ago I used a protease from Astacus fluviatillus
>(some sort of Crustacean, I think) which had the useful property of preference
>for small side-chains like Ser, Thr, Gly and Ala, and it worked quite well.
>(The downside was that these residues frequently cluster in sequences, and
>it seemed to be a much better endopeptidase than amino- or carboxy-peptidase,
>so ragged ends were not uncommon.)
>
>Now, I have a need for this protease again, and was happy to find that it was
>in the Serva catalog, only to find out that it was first out of stock, and then
>on checking they told me it was no longer available.
>
>Would anyone:
>a) know of another supplier
>
>b) know of another protease with similar specificity that is commercially
>available
>
>c) Know whether Prof. Robert Zwilling, Univ of Heidelberg, still makes this
>enzyme. Last time it was a generous gift from him, but this was many years ago
>and I have lost contact.
>
>Thanks for any tips,
>John Hempel
>Department of Biol Sci
>Univ Pittsburgh
>(412) 624 0161, FAX (412) 624 4759
Checkout thermolysin and elastase as possible, not ideal, substitutes. Practical
Protein Chemistry - A Handbook ed. A. Darbre gives a concise discussion of
specificity for these, and other, enzymes. Contact me if you want more
information. Mark.
Mark W. Crankshaw
Protein & Nucleic Acid Chemistry Laboratories
Washington University School of Medicine
voice: (314) 362-0285
FAX: (314) 362-4698
email: crank@pharmdec.wustl.edu