- Caseinolytic activity refers to the ability of proteases to degrade casein, a milk-derived phosphoprotein.
- This property is commonly used to assess the activity of serine proteases and certain matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), such as MMP-3 (stromelysin-1) and MMP-7 (matrilysin), which are known to cleave casein.
- Caseinolytic activity is crucial in various biological and industrial processes, including:
- Food industry: Used in cheese production and dairy fermentation.
- Microbial competition: Some bacteria, like Bacillus cereus, produce caseinolytic enzymes to generate antimicrobial peptides.
- Biotechnology: Caseinolytic proteases, such as Clp proteases, play a role in protein homeostasis and degradation
