Conversion of crude chitosan to an anti-fungal protease by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bacillus cereus</Emphasis>

Bacillus cereus AU004, isolated from soil samples, secreted a complex of hydrolytic enzymes into the culture broth when it was grown aerobically in a medium containing crude chitosan flakes. The presence of the AU004 culture supernatant substantially influenced the growths of the plant-pathogenic fungi Fusarium oxysporum, F. solani and Pythium ultimum in terms of dry weight. AU004 excreted a protease when cultivated in a medium that contained 4% (w/v) chitosan as the major nutritional source. The protease was purified by sequential chromatography and characterized as a novel extracellularly neutral protease. The protease had an Mr of 28.8 kDa. The optimal pH and temperature for protease activity were 7 and 50°C, respectively. Antifungal activity of the protease was observed using an assay based on the inhibition of spore germination and hyphal extension of the fungal Pythium ultimum. This investigation is the first report of the production of an anti-fungal protease from Bacillus spp.