Mapping protease substrates by using a biotinylated phage substrate library

We describe a bacteriophage M13 substrate library encoding the AviTag (BirA substrate) and combinatorial heptamer peptides displayed at the N terminus of the mature form of capsid protein III. Phages are biotinylated efficiently (>= 50 %) when grown in E. coli cells coexpressing BirA, and such viral particles can be immobilized on a streptavidin-coated support and released by protease cleavage within the combinotorial peptide. We have used this library to map the specificity of human Factor Xa and a neuropeptidase, neurolysin (EC3.4.24.16). Validation by analysis of isolated peptide substrates has revealed that neurolysin recognizes the motif hydrophobic-X-Pro-Arg-hydrophobic, where Arg-hydrophobic is the scissile bond.