lecithinase

{{Short description|Type of phospholipase that acts upon lecithin}}

Lecithinase is a type of phospholipase that acts upon lecithin.{{cite journal |author=Hanahan DJ |title=The site of action of lecithinase A of lecithin |journal=The Journal of Biological Chemistry |volume=207 |issue=2 |pages=879–84 |date=April 1954 |doi=10.1016/S0021-9258(18)65705-9 |pmid=13163073 |url=http://www.jbc.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=13163073 |doi-access=free }}{{cite journal |vauthors=Sibinovic KH, Brown FA, Pettigrew KD, Vought RL |title=Lecithin-agar assay for lecithinase antibodies in serum |journal=Applied Microbiology |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=98–103 |date=January 1971 |doi=10.1128/am.21.1.98-103.1971 |pmid=4322282 |pmc=377125 }}

It can be produced by Clostridium perfringens, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Listeria monocytogenes. C. perfringens alpha toxin (lecithinase) causes myonecrosis and hemolysis. The lecithinase of S. aureus is used in detection of coagulase-positive strains, because of high link between lecithinase activity and coagulase activity.