Abstract
A survey of the distribution of elastinolytic potential among 32 culture collection isolates ofAspergillus flavus, A. oryzae, A. parasiticus, A. sojae, A. nomius, andA. tamarii revealed this character to be highly conserved withinAspergillus SectionFlavi. Furthermore, 144 isolates ofA. flavus from environmental samples from six separate regions of the United States produced elastase on solid medium. Most previously described polymorphisms in elastinolytic potential were attributed to the toxicity of borate buffers. Replacement of borate with HEPES (N-2-hydroxyethylpiperazine-N'-2-ethanesulfonic acid) resulted in detection of elastase production on solid medium by all tested fungal isolates except two that had been in culture over 50 years. In liquid culture, only isolates ofA. flavus, A. tamarii, andA. oryzae accumulated elastase activity. Although isoelectric focusing revealed only one isoform (pI 9.0) of elastase in these culture filtrates, elastinolytic activity in filtrates was partially inhibited by both 1,10-phenanthrolene (2 mM) and phenylmethylsulfonylfluoride (2 mM), suggesting the presence of both metallo and serine elastinolytic proteinases.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- IEF:
-
isoelectric focusing
References
Cotty PJ, Cleveland TE, Brown RL, Mellon JE. Variation in polygalacturonase production amongAspergillus flavus isolates. Appl Environ Microbiol 1990; 56: 3885–87.
van den Hondel CAMJJ, Punt PJ, van Gorcom RFM. Production of extracellular proteins by the filamentous fungusAspergillus. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 1992; 61: 153–60.
Bodey GP, Vartivarian S. Aspergillosis. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 1989; 8: 413–37.
Kothary MH, Chase Jr T, MacMillan JD. Correlation of elastase production by some strains ofAspergillus fumigatus with ability to cause invasive aspergillosis in mice. Infect Immun 1984; 43: 320–25.
Rhodes JC, Amlung TW, Miller MS. Isolation and characterization of an elastinolytic proteinase fromAspergillus flavus. Infect Immun 1990; 58: 2529–34.
Frosco M, Chase Jr T, MacMillan JD. Purification and properties of the elastase fromAspergillus fumigatus. Infect Immun 1992; 60: 728–34.
Kolattukudy PE, Lee JD, Rogers LM, Zimmerman P, Ceselski S, Fox B, Stein B, Copelan EA. Evidence for possible involvement of an elastolytic serine protease in aspergillosis. Infect Immun 1993; 61: 2357–68.
Ramesh MV, Sirakova T, Kolattukudy PE. Isolation, characterization, and cloning of cDNA and the gene for an elastinolytic serine proteinase fromAspergillus flavus. Infect Immun 1994; 62: 79–85.
Egel DS, Cotty PJ, Elias KS. Relationships among isolates ofAspergillus SectionFlavi which vary in aflatoxin production. Phytopathology 1994; 84: 906–12.
Hesseltine CW, Shotwell OL, Smith M, Ellis JJ, Vandegraft E, Shannon G. Production of various aflatoxins by strains of theAspergillus flavus series. In: Herzberg M (ed), Proceedings of the first US—Japan conference on toxic microorganisms. Washington, DC: US Govt Printing Office, 1970: 202–210.
Cotty PJ. Comparison of four media for the isolation ofAspergillus flavus group fungi. Mycopathologia 1994; 125: 157–62.
Cotty PJ. Virulence and cultural characteristics of twoAspergillus flavus strains pathogenic on cotton. Phytopathology 1989; 79: 808–14.
Mellon JE, Lee LS. Elicitation of cotton isoperoxidases byAspergillus flavus and other fungi pathogenic to cotton. Physiol Plant Pathol 1985; 27: 281–88.
Rhodes JC, Bode RB, McCuan-Kirsch CM. Elastase production in clinical isolates ofAspergillus. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis 1988; 10: 165–70.
Denning DW, Elliott J, Keaney M. Temperature-dependent expression of elastase inAspergillus species. J Med Vet Mycol 1993; 31: 455–58.
Bayman P, Cotty PJ. Vegetative compatibility and genetic diversity in theAspergillus flavus population of a single field. Can J Bot 1991; 69: 1707–11.
Kurtzman CP, Horn BW, Hesseltine CW.Aspergillus nomius, a new aflatoxin-producing species related toAspergillus flavus andAspergillus tamarii. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 1987; 53: 147–58.
Tang CM, Holden DW, Aufauvre-Brown A, Cohen J. The detection ofAspergillus spp. by the polymerase chain reaction and its evaluation in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Am Rev Respir Dis 1993; 148: 1313–17.
Monod M, Paris S, Sarfati J, Jaton-Ogay K, Ave P, Latge J. Virulence of alkaline protease deficient mutants ofAspergillus fumigatus. FEMS Microbiol Lett 1992; 106: 39–46.
Tang CM, Cohen J, Krausz T, Van Noorden S, Holden DW. The alkaline protease ofAspergillus fumigatus is not a virulence determinant in two murine models of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. Infect Immun 1993; 61: 1650–56.
Cotty PJ, Bayman P, Egel DS, Elias KS. Agriculture, aflatoxins andAspergillus. In: Powell KA et al. (eds), The genusAspergillus. New York: Plenum Press, 1994: 1–27.
Hanzi M, Shimizu M, Hearn VM, Monod M. A study of the alkaline proteases secreted by differentAspergillus species. Mycoses 1993; 36: 351–56.
Tang CM, Cohen J, Holden DW. AnAspergillus fumigatus alkaline protease mutant constructed by gene disruption is deficient in extracellular elastase activity. Mol Microbiol 1992; 6: 1663–71.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
The US Government's right to retain a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to any copyright is acknowledged.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mellon, J.E., Cotty, P.J. Expression of elastinolytic activity among isolates inAspergillus SectionFlavi . Mycopathologia 131, 115–120 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01102889
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01102889