Dear Netters;
I am curently researching specific inhibition of the
subtilisin-like serine protease secreted by the fungus _O.piscea_. Does
anyone have any ideas on specific inhibitors of the proteinase? Ideally,
I wish to interfere with the digestion and uptake of wood proteins by the
fungus, disrupting the nitrogen utilization pathway and leaving the fungi
viable, still able to utilize inorganic N-sources (for culture in
semi-artificial media). Possible inhibitors currently under consideration
are EDTA, PMSF, Pefabloc, SDS, DDAC, Boric acids, PQ8, Copper compounds,
pigment inhibitors, carbodiimide, alpha-2-macroglobulin,
beta-mercaptoethanol, APMSF, TLCK, and alpha-antitrypsin.
The direct utility of these inhibitors is use in wood preservation
(ie: protection from staining fungi, esp O.p.), so ideally they must be
water-soluble, with low rates of spontaneous breakdown at approximately
neutral pH, non-hramful to the wood, relatively non-toxic, and cheap
enough to use commercially (although this is not such an issue now, as this
is only being done on a small scale at present). Any thoughts on this
matter would be greatly appreciated.
A second thought is that there may be a way to block release of
the enzyme from the fungi. The proteinase is the major secreted protein
product, and blocking of exocytosis may serve my needs, if there is an
inhibitor for this purpose available. My background is in biochemistry,
so I have much research to do!
Anyhow, any thoughts will be of great help. Please reply by
email ifpossible, to save the bandwidth. Thanks in advance for your
help! Dave.
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|Dave Bradshaw davideb at unixg.ubc.ca or 73063.1630 at compuserve.com |
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| "When I die, I hope I die like my Grandfather did, quietly in |
| my sleep, not screaming like the passengers in his car." |
|_________________________________________________________________|
