27. Fungal Protease Inhibitors

Fungi constitute an enormous unexplored pool of protease inhibitors. Only a handful of fungal protease inhibitors have been exhaustively characterized, but they reveal great versatility and many unique features and novel types of inhibitory mechanisms. Small molecule and protein inhibitors of all catalytic classes of proteases have been identified in fungi, those that target serine proteases predominating. As important regulators of proteases, the function and potential applications of protease inhibitors are intimately connected with those of proteases they inhibit. In this chapter, both small molecule and protein protease inhibitors from fungi are described, including their biochemical characteristics, inhibitory mechanisms, and biological functions together with their potential for application in the fields of biotechnology, crop protection, and medicine.