Alkaline protease

An alkaline protease having an amino acid sequence corresponding to SEQ ID NO:

• 3 or a functional equivalent thereof comprising at least one modification (a) through (e), and which exhibits a specific activity and/or detergency higher than that of the alkaline protease having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:
• 1:
• (a) substitution, with an amino acid residue, of the amino acid residue at position 133 or at a position corresponding thereto;
• (b) insertion of an amino acid residue between the amino acid residues at positions 133 and 134 or at positions corresponding thereto;
• (c) substitution, with an amino acid residue, of the amino acid residue at original position 134 (as used herein, the “original position” refers to the position before insertion) or at a position corresponding thereto;
• (d) substitution, with an amino acid residue, of the amino acid residue at original position 135 or at a position corresponding thereto;
• and
• (e) substitution, with an amino acid residue, of the amino acid residue at position 132 or at a position corresponding thereto.