Secreted protease and activity of an endoproteinase for preliminary characterization of clinical Candida isolates

Nine clinical Candida strains (Candida dublinienses (one), Candida albicans (six), and C. tropicalis (two)) were characterized by production of secreted protease, activity of endoproteinase A and with the HiCandida identification kit. Protease secretion was in the range of 1.3-1.8 cm while PrA activity was between 0.19 and 0.44 μg/min/mg protein. Results are indicative of the possible use of endoproteinase activity and SAP production for characterizing Candida strains. Keywords:Biochemical activity, Candida, characterization, endoproteinase, secreted protease. Received: 23 September 2009 / Received in revised form: 29 September 2009, Accepted: 15 July 2010, Published online: 25 July 2010