COMPARATIVE PHYSIOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF HYDROPHOBINS PRODUCED IN ESCHERICHIA COLI AND PICHIA PASTORIS.

Hydrophobins (HFBs) are small surface-active proteins secreted by filamentous fungi. Being amphiphilic, they spontaneously form layers that convert surfaces from hydrophilic to hydrophobic and vice versa. We have compared properties of the class II HFB4 and HFB7 from Trichoderma virens as produced in Escherichia coli and Pichia pastoris.

HFB7 - A novel orphan hydrophobin of the Harzianum and Virens clades of Trichoderma, is involved in response to biotic and abiotic stresses.

Hydrophobins are small secreted cysteine-rich proteins exclusively found in fungi. They are able to self-assemble in single molecular layers at hydrophobic-hydrophilic interfaces and can therefore be directly involved in establishment of fungi in their habitat. The genomes of filamentous mycotrophic fungi Trichoderma encode a rich diversity of hydrophobins, which are divided in several groups based on their structure and evolution.