Abstract
Yarrowia lipolytica (previously Candida, Endomycopsis or Saccharomycopsis lipolytica ) secretes a high level (1 to 2% of total cell protein) of an alkaline extracellular protease (AEP). In this paper, the authors report on studies of intracellular precursors of AEP detected by immunoprecipitation and on the cloning and sequencing of the gene coding for AEP (XPR2 ). The results are combined to make a model which suggests that AEP processing is quite complex. It involves several precursors, as many as six processing events, and possibly several alternative processing pathways. They also report on the kinetics of AEP secretion and on the location (cell wall versus extracellular medium) of secreted AEP.