Cloning and characterization of the pepD gene of Aspergillus niger which codes for a subtilisin-like protease.

Serine proteases constitute an important group of extra- and intracellular proteases in fungi. These enzymes are characterized by conserved regions around the active site residues, Asp, His and Ser. Based on this amino acid (aa) sequence conservation, we have used degenerate primer PCR to isolate subtilisin-specific genomic probes from Aspergillus niger, and cloned a gene, pepD, by screening a lambda genomic library using a PCR probe.

Expression of cauliflower mosaic virus gene I in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) gene I encodes a 40-kDa protein, P1, which is thought to be involved in the cell-to-cell movement of the virus. In order to investigate its functioning, P1 was expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae transformed by an expression vector containing CaMV gene I. When produced in yeast, PI was 40 kDa in size and not N-glycosylated.

The cauliflower mosaic virus open reading frame VII product can be expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae but is not detected in infected plants.

Antiserum was prepared against a synthetic peptide corresponding to the N-terminal 20 amino acids of the protein encoded by cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) open reading frame VII (ORF VII). This antiserum was used to detect the expression of CaMV ORF VII either in Saccharomyces cerevisiae transformed by an expression vector containing CaMV ORF VII or in CaMV-infected plants. Only in S.

The cauliflower mosaic virus gene III product is a non-sequence-specific DNA binding protein.

The interaction of the gene III product, P15, of cauliflower mosaic virus with different double-stranded DNA fragments of the viral genome was investigated. The results suggest that gene III product which showed DNA binding activity is a structural protein of the viral particle.

Expression of the cauliflower mosaic virus capsid gene in vivo.

Antisera against the N-terminal and C-terminal parts of the potential ORF IV product were used to analyse extracts from CaMV-infected turnip leaves by immunoblotting. Polypeptides of 87, 83, 82, 60 and 57 kDa were detected. The origin of these proteins is discussed.