What is "lecithinase"

n. An enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of lecithin.

Lecithinase is a type of phospholipase that acts upon lecithin.

It can be produced by Clostridium perfringens, Staphylococcus aureus 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.