Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 20, 2026

Antimicrobial Peptides Produced by Selective Pressure Incorporation of Non-canonical Amino Acids
Published on: May 4, 2018
Characterisation of Aspergillus niger prolyl aminopeptidase
Daniëlle E J W Basten1, Antoine P H A Moers, Albert J J van Ooyen
1Section Fungal Genomics, Department of Microbiology, Wageningen University, Dreijenlaan 2, 6703 HA, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
We have cloned a gene (papA) that encodes a prolyl aminopeptidase from Aspergillus niger. Homologous genes are present in the genomes of the Eurotiales A. nidulans, A. fumigatus and Talaromyces emersonii, but the gene is not present in the genome of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Cell extracts of strains overexpressing the gene under the control of its own promoter showed a fourfold to sixfold increase in prolyl aminopeptidase activity, but no change in phenylalanine or leucine aminopeptidase activity. The overexpressed enzyme was subsequently purified and characterised. The enzyme specifically removes N-terminal proline and hydroxyproline residues from peptides. It is the first enzyme of its kind from a eukaryotic organism that has been characterised.
Related Concept Videos
Amino acids
Allosteric Proteins-ATCase
Aspartate transcarbamoylase (ATCase) is a cytosolic enzyme that catalyzes the condensation of L-aspartate and carbamoyl phosphate to N-carbamoyl-L-aspartate. This reaction is the first step in pyrimidine biosynthesis. UTP and CTP, the end products of the pyrimidine synthesis pathway,...
The Proteasome
In this pathway, the target proteins are first tagged with small proteins called ubiquitin. A series of enzymes carry out the ubiquitination of the target proteins - E1 (ubiquitin-activating enzyme), E2 (ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme), and E3...
The Proteasome
In this pathway, the target proteins are first tagged with small proteins called ubiquitin. This involves participation of a series of enzymes including— E1 (ubiquitin-activating enzyme), E2 (ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme), and E3 (ubiquitin...
The Proteasome Structure
The proteasome is an...
Protein Folding
Protein Structure Is Critical to Its Biological Function
Proteins perform a wide range of biological functions such as catalyzing chemical reactions, providing...
