A. niger protein “EstA”, perhaps a new electrotactin, defines a new class of fungal esterases within the α/β hydrolase fold superfamily
Abstract
Protein EstA from Aspergillus niger was characterized through a multifaced approach involving molecular biology, bioinformatics, biophysical, biochemical and enzymatical analyses. EstA was identified as the lead member, within the superfamily of proteins with an alpha/beta-hydrolase fold, of a new class of fungal esterases that also contains predicted homologs from other fungus species of known broad host-range pathogenicity.