A binary assay identifies agents that inhibit sterol Δ14 reductase involved in ergosterol biosynthesis. In the primary screen, sterol Δ14 reductase inhibition by a test sample is assayed by adding the test sample to a culture of Neurospora crassa having an erg-3 mutation and also to a culture of a strain having an erg-1 mutation, comparing the extent of growth inhibition after incubation in the two cultures, and identifying as positives those samples that show growth inhibition in the erg-3 culture exceeding that in the erg-1 culture. In the secondary screen, samples that test positive in the primary screen are reassayed by adding the test sample to a culture of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain into which has been introduced multiple copies of a gene encoding sterol Δ14 reductase and also to a strain of S. cerevisiae that does not have the introduced gene; positive samples are identified after incubation by observation that growth inhibition in the culture having no introduced reductase gene exceeds growth inhibition in the culture having the introduced reductase gene. In preferred embodiments, a known inhibitor of sterol Δ14 reductase is employed in solidified media in both the primary and the secondary screens, resulting in an assay that is highly sensitive and specific for the detection of sterol Δ14 reductase inhibitors.
二元测定法可鉴定出抑制参与
麦角甾醇生物合成的
甾醇Δ14 还原酶的制剂。在初筛中,将受试样品加入具有 erg-3 突变的十字花黑孢子(Neurospora crassa)的培养物和具有 erg-1 突变的菌株的培养物中,测定受试样品对
甾醇 Δ14 还原酶的抑制作用,比较在两种培养物中培养后生长受抑制的程度,将在 erg-3 培养物中生长受抑制的程度超过在 erg-1 培养物中生长受抑制的程度的样品鉴定为阳性。在二级筛选中,将在一级筛选中呈阳性的样品加入已导入多拷贝
固醇Δ14 还原酶编码
基因的酿酒酵母菌株的培养液中,同时也加入没有导入该
基因的酿酒酵母菌 株的培养液中,重新进行筛选;培养后,通过观察没有导入还原酶
基因的培养液中的生 长抑制作用超过有导入还原酶
基因的培养液中的生长抑制作用,确定阳性样品。在优选的实施方案中,在初筛和复筛中都在固化
培养基中使用
固醇 Δ14还原酶的已知
抑制剂,从而使检测
固醇 Δ14还原酶
抑制剂的测定具有高灵敏度和特异性。