1. The major amylolytic enzyme in culture filtrates of Coniophora cerebella grown in starch-containing media has been purified and characterized as a glucoamylase (EC 3.2.1.3). 2. The activity/unit wt. of protein was increased 11-fold and the enzyme showed one major component on polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. 3. The glucoamylase had optimum pH4.0-4.5. 4. Hg(2+) completely inhibited the enzyme, but other ions tested had little effect on the activity at the concentration of ions used (5mm). 5. The action of the enzyme on amylopectin, amylose and maltose was studied. Hydrolysis proceeded by the stepwise removal of glucose units from the non-reducing ends of the polymer chains, and the enzyme was able to bypass or to hydrolyse the alpha-(1-->6)-glucosidic linkages at branch points in the amylopectin molecule. Glucose was the only product found in digests of these substrates. 6. At the same substrate concentration (0.1%, w/v) and enzyme concentration, the initial rates of glucose production from amylopectin, amylose and maltose were in the proportions 40:10:1. 7. K(m) values at 40 degrees and pH4.0 were calculated for the enzyme acting on amylopectin, amylose and maltose.
1. The culture filtrate of the fungus Coniophora cerebella grown on poplar 4-O-methylglucuronoxylan as carbon source and enzyme inducer contained an enzyme system that degraded the polysaccharide to xylose, acidic and neutral oligosaccharides and an enzyme-resistant polymer. Free uronic acid was not produced. 2. Cold ethanol fractionation of the culture filtrate yielded two active fractions, one of which had only xylanase (EC 3.2.1.8) and the other both xylanase and xylosidase (EC 3.2.1.37) activities. Further fractionation on DEAE-cellulose resolved the xylanase and xylosidase activities. 3. The xylanase degraded poplar 4-O-methylglucuronoxylan in an essentially random manner, producing oligosaccharides, but some xylose residues in the vicinity of uronic acid side groups were protected from hydrolysis, preventing a truly random attack. The xylosidase attacked the polysaccharide very slowly, releasing xylose, but the oligosaccharides produced by the action of the xylanase were much more susceptible to hydrolysis by the xylosidase. 4. The products of xylanase action were separated into neutral and acidic fractions. The neutral oligosaccharides were separated by chromatography on charcoal-Celite, and the major products were characterized as xylobiose, xylotriose, xylotetraose and xylopentaose. Some of the acidic sugars were branched, having the uronic acid residue attached to a xylose residue other than the terminal non-reducing one. 5. Gel filtration of various xylanase fractions gave values for the molecular weight of the enzyme from 34000 to 38000.
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