A new cuticle scale hydrolysing protease from Beauveria brongniartii

Abstract

From a screening for the production of new proteases specific for cuticle scales, Beauveria brongniartii was selected producing an alkaline Ca(++) dependent protease. The purified had a molecular weight of 27 kDa and a pI value of 8.0. Substrate specificities of model substrates (wool with partially removed cuticles treated with SDS) were analyzed by protein release, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrogen analysis. The C/N ratio of released material turned out to be a good parameter to determine the site of action of proteases on fibres. Compared to other enzymes, the fungal protease preferentially hydrolyzed cuticle scales and has thus a potential for anti-shrinking pre-treatment of wool fabrics.

Purification and characterization of an alkaline protease by a new strain of Beauveria sp

“…The molecular mass of purified BAP was 29 kDa on SDS-PAGE which is similar to the molecular weight of 27 kDa protease from Beauveria brongniartii [15]. However, it is slightly lower compared to the molecular weights of proteases from two different strains of B. bassiana which were 35 kDa [16] and 47 kDa [8], respectively.…”

“…This could be due to the presence of higher percentage of basic amino acids in the protein. However, the pI of B. brongniartii protease is reported to be 8.0 [15] which is 1 unit lower than BAP. Lower pI of 4.5 was reported for alkaline protease from Aspergillus nidulans [20] whereas higher pI of 10.5 was reported for serine-like protease from nematophagous fungus Clonostachys rosea [6].…”

“…The optimum temperature for fungal alkaline proteases ranges from 35 to 50 • C. Bidochka and Khachatourians [16] and Zibaee and Bandani [8] have reported optimum temperatures of 37-45 • C and 45 • C, respectively for proteases from B. bassiana. However, the protease from B. brongniartii is reported to have a lower optimum temperature of 20 • C [15].…”

Sustainable Textile Wet Processing: Applications of Enzymes

“…The screening for new protease-producing microorganisms with high specificity for cuticles is being investigated as an alternative for the existing proteases [23]. Papain is the best-known cysteine protease.…”

Preservation of aerial conidia and biomasses from entomopathogenic fungi Beauveria brongniartii and Metarhizium anisopliae during lyophilization

“…Given the increasing public sensitivity to environmental pollution, however, biological control using entomopathogenic fungi is becoming an interesting alternative to chemical control (Maniania et al, 2008;Shah and Pell, 2003;Vega et al, 2008). In this context, Beauveria brongniartii and Metarhizium anisopliae are known to effectively cause epizootics of soil dwelling pests with a limited host range and minimal impact on non-target species (Amiri et al, 1999;Erlacher et al, 2006;Hadapad and Zebitz, 2006).…”