Abstract
The interest in proteases secreted by mycelial fungi is due to several reasons of which one of the most important is their involvement in the initiation and development of the pathogenic process. A comparison of saprophytic and phytopathogenic mycelial fungi revealed one characteristic feature, namely, the appearance of a new trypsin-like activity in phytopathogens that is absent in saprophytes. To clear up the question of whether the degree of pathogenicity of a fungus is related to the activity of secreted trypsin-like protease, several species of Fusarium of various pathogenicity were compared. In two species, F. sporotrichioides (which causes ear fusariosis of rye) and F. heterosporum (the causative agent of root rot in wheat), a clear correlation between the activity and pathogenicity was revealed: the more pathogenetic F. sporotrichioides exhibited a higher extracellular trypsin-like activity than the less pathogenetic species F. heterosporum. Thus, the presence of trypsin-like activity in a saprotroph-pathogen pair may be an indicator of the pathogenicity of a fungus; in some cases, the value of this activity may indicate the degree of its pathogenicity. This suggests that trypsin-like proteases specific to phytopathogens are directly involved in the pathogenetic process, probably, through interaction with the “sentry” protein or the product of the resistance gene.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- SL and TL:
-
proteases, subtilisin-like and trypsinlike proteases
- pNA:
-
para-nitroanilide
References
Deshpande, M.V., World J. Microbiol. Biotechnol., 1992, vol. 8, pp. 242–250.
Mosolov, V.V., Grigor’eva, L.I., and Valueva, T.A., Prikl. Biokhim. Mikrobiol., 2001, vol. 37, pp. 131–140.
Grudkowska, M. and Zagdanska, B., Acta Biochimica Polonica, 2004, vol. 51, pp. 609–624.
Ohnishi, J., Ohnishi, E., Shibuya, H., and Takahashi, T., Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 2005, vol. 1751, pp. 95–109.
Pavlyukova, E.B., Belozerskii, M.A., and Dunaevskii, Ya.E., Biokhimiya (Moscow), 1998, vol. 63, pp. 1059–1089.
Rao, M.B., Tanksale, A.M., Ghatge, M.S., and Deshpande, V.V., Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev., 1998, vol. 62, pp. 597–635.
Bidochka, M.J. and Melzer, M.J., Can. J. Microbiol., 2000, vol. 46, pp. 1138–1144.
Chow, L.P., Liu, S.L., Yu, C.J., Liao, H.K., Tsai, J.J., and Tang, T.K., Biochem. J., 2000, vol. 346, pp. 423–431.
Blanco, J.L., Hontecillas, R., Bouza, E., Blanco, I., Pelaez, T., Munoz, P., Perez Molina, J., and Garcia, M.E., J. Clin. Microbiol., 2002, vol. 40, pp. 1811–1813.
Dunaevskii, Ya.E., Gruban’, T.N., Belyakova, G.A., and Belozerskii, M.A., Biokhimiya (Moscow), 2000, vol. 65, pp. 848–853.
Dunaevskii, Ya.E., Pavlyukova, E.B., Gruban’, T.N., Belyakova, G.A., and Belozerskii, M.A., Biokhimiya (Moscow), 1996, vol. 61, pp. 1904–1910.
Gruban’, T.N., Extracellular Proteolytic Enzymes of Fungi Imperfecti. Cand. Sci. (Biol.) Dissertation, Moscow: Mosk. Gos. Univ., 2001.
Takken, F.L.W. and Joosten, H.A.J., Eur. J. Plant Pathol., 2000, vol. 106, pp. 699–713.
D’yakov, Yu.T., Zh. Obshch. Biol., 2005, vol. 66, pp. 451–458.
Jia, Y., McAdams, S.A., Bryan, G.T., Hershey, H.P., and Valent, B., EMBO J., 2000, vol. 19, pp. 4004–4014.
Mosolov, V.V. and Valueva, T.A., Biokhimiya (Moscow), 2006, vol. 71, pp. 1034–1042.
St. Leger, R., Cooper, R., and Charnley, A. J. Gen. Microbiol., 1986, vol. 132, pp. 1509–1517.
Thomas, S.R. and Elkinton, J.S., J. Invertebr. Pathol., 2004, vol. 85, pp. 146–151.
Erlanger, B.F., Kokowsky, N., and Cohen, W., Arch. Biochem. Biophys., 1961, vol. 95, pp. 271–278.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Original Russian Text © Ya.E. Dunaevskii, A.R. Matveeva, G.N. Fatkhullina, G.A. Belyakova, T.M. Kolomiets, E.D. Kovalenko, M.A. Belozersky, 2008, published in Bioorganicheskaya Khimiya, 2008, Vol. 34, No. 3, pp. 317–321.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dunaevskii, Y.E., Matveeva, A.R., Fatkhullina, G.N. et al. Extracellular proteases of mycelial fungi as participants of pathogenic process. Russ J Bioorg Chem 34, 286–289 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1068162008030059
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1068162008030059