The dsbB gene product is required for protease production by Burkholderia cepacia

Burkholderia cepacia KF1, isolated from a pneumonia patient, produces a 37-kDa extracellular metalloprotease. A protease-deficient and lipase-proficient mutant, KFT1007, was complemented by a clone having an open reading frame coding for a 170-amino-acid polypeptide which showed significant homology to Escherichia coli DsbB. KFT1007, a presumed dsbB mutant, also failed to show motility, and both protease secretion and motility were restored by the introduction of the cloned dsbB gene of B. cepacia. The mutant KFT1007 excreted a 43-kDa polypeptide that is immunologically related to the 37-kDa mature protease. These results suggested that the dsbB mutant secretes a premature and catalytically inactive form of protease and that disulfide formation is required for the production of extracellular protease by B. cepacia.