This study is the first to demonstrate the activity of putative cellulosomal protease/peptidase inhibitors (named cyspins) of Clostridium cellulovorans, using the Saccharomyces cerevisiae display system. Cyspins exhibited inhibitory activities against several representative plant proteases. This suggests that these inhibitors protect their microbe and cellulosome from external attack by plant p...

Protease inhibitors play a role in regulating proteases during cellular development and in plant defense. We cloned and sequenced cDNA encoding six protease inhibitors expressed in soybean roots infected with soybean cyst nematode (SCN) and determined their expression patterns. Four of these protease inhibitors are novel and have not been reported previously. Using RT-PCR, we measured the relat...

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 protease (HIV-1 PR) is an essential enzyme for the replication cycle of HIV. HIV-1 PR inhibitors have been extensively investigated as anti-AIDS drugs. In the presence of HIV-1 protease inhibitors, the virion is unable to mature. Natural compounds are important sources of drugs. The present investigation concentrates on discovering anti-HIV compounds that are...

Proteases, though essentially indispensable to the maintenance and survival of their host organisms, can be potentially damaging when overexpressed or present in higher concentrations, and their activities need to be correctly regulated. An important means of regulation involves modulation of their activities through interaction with substances, mostly proteins, called protease inhibitors. Some...

Protease inhibitors are a promising complement to Bt toxins for the development of insect-resistant transgenic crops, but their limited specificity against proteolytic enzymes and the ubiquity of protease-dependent processes in living organisms raise questions about their eventual non-target effects in agroecosystems. After a brief overview of the main factors driving the impacts of insect-resi...

The plant apoplast forms a protease-rich environment in which proteases are integral components of the plant defense response. Plant pathogenic oomycetes, such as the potato (Solanum tuberosum) and tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) pathogen Phytophthora infestans, secrete a diverse family of serine protease inhibitors of the Kazal family. Among these, the two-domain EPI1 protein was shown to inh...

Almost all protease families have been associated with plant development, particularly senescence, which is the final developmental stage of every organ before cell death. Proteolysis remobilizes and recycles nitrogen from senescent organs that is required, for example, seed development. Senescence-associated expression of proteases has recently been characterized using large-scale gene express...