Metalloprotease gene of Arthroderma gypseum

The full-length cDNA sequence for metalloprotease (MEP) of Arthroderma gypseum (one of the teleomorphs of the Microsporum gypseum complex) was determined by the 5'-rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) and 3'-RACE methods using cDNA as a template. The full-length cDNA sequence of the MEP (2,670 bp) gene was proved to encode 677 amino acids. The amino acid sequence of the A. gypseum MEP gene shared about 89 and 66% sequence similarity with the conserved region of the Microsporum canis MEP gene and Aspergillus fumigatus, respectively. Southern hybridization analysis of genomic DNA with an MEP probe gave many distinct bands in BamHI, EcoRI and HindIII digests of genomic DNA from A. gypseum. Reverse transcriptase-PCR analysis suggested that keratin might stimulate the expression of MEP mRNA in A. gypseum.