Molecular cloning and characterization of the alkaline ceramidase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA01

Ceramidase (CDase) hydrolyzes the amide bond in ceramides to yield free fatty acid and sphingosine. From a 3-L Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA01 culture, 70 μg of extracellular alkaline, Ca2+-dependent CDase, was purified to homogeneity, the N-terminal sequence was determined, and the CDase gene was cloned. The CDase gene encodes a 670 amino acid...

Staphylococcus aureus resistance to human defensins and evasion of neutrophil killing via the novel virulence factor MprF is based on modification of membrane lipids with L-lysine

Defensins, antimicrobial peptides of the innate immune system, protect human mucosal epithelia and skin against microbial infections and are produced in large amounts by neutrophils. The bacterial pathogen Staphylococcus aureus is insensitive to defensins by virtue of an unknown resistance mechanism. We describe a novel staphylococcal gene, mprF...