Identification of Hydrophobins in Fungal Strains Using Bioinformatics Tools

Hydrophobins are proteins produced by various fungi. They can self-assemble at hydrophilic hydrophobic interfaces into an amphipathic film. Hydrophobins are used to stabilize foam in food products; and immobilize enzyme, antibodies, cells, and an organic molecule on surfaces. Hydrophobins are the surface active proteins with good foaming capacities. Bioinformatics study was done to identify the presence of hydrophobins in Aspergillus and Penicillium strains. This was done by using BLAST and CDS tools in NCBI. Using these tools, hydrophobin domain families of Aspergillus species and Penicillium islandicum was identified and described. Also, surface tension reducing capacity of fermentated broths obtained from these strains was tested.