title: NFAP2, a novel cysteine-rich anti-yeast protein from Neosartorya fischeri NRRL 181: isolation and characterization.
abstract: The increasing incidence of fungal infections and damages due to drug-resistant fungi urges the development of new antifungal strategies. The cysteine-rich antifungal proteins from filamentous ascomycetes provide a feasible base for protection against molds due to their potent antifungal activity on them. In contrast to this, they show no or weak activity on yeasts, hence their applicability against this group of fungi is questionable. In the present study a 5.6 kDa anti-yeast protein (NFAP2) is isolated, identified and characterized from the ferment broth of Neosartorya fischeri NRRL 181. Based on a phylogenetic analysis, NFAP2 and its putative homologs represent a new group of ascomycetous cysteine-rich antifungal proteins. NFAP2 proved to be highly effective against tested yeasts involving clinically relevant Candida species. NFAP2 did not cause metabolic inactivity and apoptosis induction, but its plasma membrane disruption ability was observed on Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The antifungal activity was maintained after high temperature treatment presumably due to the in silico predicted stable tertiary structure. The disulfide bond-stabilized, heat-resistant folded structure of NFAP2 was experimentally proved. After further investigations of antifungal mechanism, structure and toxicity, NFAP2 could be applicable as a potent antifungal agent against yeasts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, Szeged, 6726, Hungary.
authors.forename: Liliána
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tóth
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Chemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Dóm tér 8, Szeged, 6720, Hungary.
authors.forename: Zoltán
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Kele
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Centre, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Temesvári krt 62, Szeged, 6726, Hungary.
authors.forename: Attila
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Borics
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Centre, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Temesvári krt 62, Szeged, 6726, Hungary.
authors.forename: László G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Nagy
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Chemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Dóm tér 8, Szeged, 6720, Hungary.
authors.forename: Györgyi
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Váradi
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, Szeged, 6726, Hungary.
authors.forename: Máté
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Virágh
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, Szeged, 6726, Hungary.
authors.forename: Miklós
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takó
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, Szeged, 6726, Hungary.
authors.forename: Csaba
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vágvölgyi
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, Szeged, 6726, Hungary. galgoczi@gmail.com.|Division of Molecular Biology, Biocenter, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innrain 80-82, Innsbruck, 6020, Austria. galgoczi@gmail.com.
authors.forename: László
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6976-8910
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Galgóczy
keywords: Anti-yeast activity; Candida spp.; Cysteine-rich antifungal protein; Neosartorya fischeri; Protein isolation; Protein structure