Characteristics and applications of a recombinant alkaline serine protease from a novel bacterium Bacillus lehensis

► First report on the production of recombinant alkaline protease from Bacillus lehensis. ► A 4.1-fold increase in enzyme activity was achieved by cloning and expression. ► The enzyme is solvent tolerant and SDS-stimulated. ► The enzyme is useful as detergent additive and in silver recovery from used films. ► The enzyme is applicable in silk degumming and biocontrol of nematodes.