FIMBRIATAN, A PROTEIN FROM CERATOCYSTIS-FIMBRIATA

Tissue cultures of Platanus acerifolia susceptible to the fungus Ceratocystis fimbriata, the causal agent of the canker stain disease of plane trees, were used as a model to study in vitro expression of the disease symptoms. Tissues were infected by the fungus or exposed to its sterile culture filtrate. A protein which severely inhibited the growth of callus cultures was obtained from culture filtrates. The protein, which was purified by gel filtration and by its hydrophobicity, is named fimbriatan, and is comparable to cerato-ulmin, a small M(r) toxin implicated in the canker stain of elms.