Isolation andCharacterization ofaPseudomonas aeruginosa PAOMutantThatProduces Altered Elastase

TL;DRAbstract

Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAOmutants defective inelastase wereisolated by plate assaysofnitrosoguanidine-mutagenized clones. A total of75elastase mutants were isolated from43,000 mutagenized clones. Onemutant(PAO-E64) was apparently identical totheparental strain except foritsdeficiency inelastase activity. Thismutantproduced an enzyme whichwas antigenically indistinguishablefromparental elastase. Furthermore, equal levels ofelastase antigen were produced bythis mutantanditsparental strain. Themutantelastase, however, hadgreatly reduced enzymatic activity. MutantPAO-E64ispresumed tohavea mutation inthestructural geneforelastase. We havedesignated thegenotype of themutation inPAO-E64aslasAl. Pseudomonas aeruginosa isanopportunistic pathogen whichisassociated withavariety of severe andoften fatal infections (15). Thisorganism produces anumberofextracellular substances, including proteases, whichmayplay a role inpathogenesis (15). Theproteolytic activityofP.aeruginosa wasfirst characterized

Chat with Paper

AI Agents for this Paper