Cell-wall lytic enzymes (autolysins) of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii are (hydroxy)proline-specific proteases.

Two stage specific cell-wall lytic enzymes (autolysins) from different strains of the unicellular, biflagellated green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii were isolated and purified to homogeneity. Quantitative and specific photometric assays for biological activity were worked out to follow fractionation and to establish lytic specificity and kinetics. The autolysins were studied for enzymatic properties and screened for biological activity towards several wall components obtained by salt extractions of sporangia and zoospores from C. reinhardtii. The autolysins are proteolytic enzymes, fragmenting proline- or hydroxyproline-containing polypeptides in structures like connective tissue. They attack predominantly selected domains within the walls of zoosporangia or gametes. The sporangial autolysins are not only site- and strain-specific but also stage-specific, whereas the gamete autolysins lyse cell walls of gametes as well as those of sporangia and zoospores.