cellulase and 2-2--azino-di-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline)-6-sulfonic-acid

The impacts of four extraction methods (hot water, enzyme assistance, ultrasonic assistance and ultrasonic-enzyme assistance) on the extraction yields, preliminary structure and antioxidant activities of the Hohenbuehelia serotina polysaccharides (HW-HSP, EA-HSP, UA-HSP and UEA-HSP) were systematically investigated. The yield of the polysaccharides (20.70±0.17%) obtained by ultrasonic-enzyme assistance was higher than the polysaccharides by other methods'. Four kinds of polysaccharides possessed the different preliminary structural characteristics including molecular weight distributions, monosaccharide compositions, crystallization and spiral structures, while different surface morphology. Through the measurements of antioxidant activities in vitro, UEA-HSP exhibited the most significant scavenging capacities on non-physiological ABTS free radicals and physiological hydroxyl radicals. These data showed that ultrasonic-enzyme assistance was more beneficial to enhance the extraction yields of the polysaccharides, and obtain higher bioactive polysaccharides. The results also suggested that H. serotina polysaccharides possessed potential healthcare application in food field due to their antioxidant activities.

Topics: Agaricales; Benzothiazoles; Cellulase; Chemical Fractionation; Free Radical Scavengers; Hot Temperature; Hydrodynamics; Hydroxyl Radical; Oxidation-Reduction; Polysaccharides; Sulfonic Acids; Ultrasonic Waves; Water

Laccases are copper-containing enzymes which oxidize phenolic substrates and transfer the electrons to oxygen. Many filamentous fungi contain several laccase-encoding genes, but their biological roles are mostly not well understood. The main interest in laccases in biotechnology is their potential to be used to detoxify phenolic substances. We report here on a novel application of laccases as a reporter system in fungi. We purified a laccase enzyme from the ligno-cellulolytic ascomycete Stachybotrys chartarum. It oxidized the artificial substrate 2,2'-azino-di-(3-ethylbenzthiazolinsulfonate) (ABTS). The corresponding gene was isolated and expressed in Aspergillus nidulans, Aspergillus niger, and Trichoderma reesei. Heterologously expressed laccase activity was monitored in colorimetric enzyme assays and on agar plates with ABTS as a substrate. The use of laccase as a reporter was shown in a genetic screen for the isolation of improved T. reesei cellulase production strains. In addition to the laccase from S. charatarum, we tested the application of three laccases from A. nidulans (LccB, LccC, and LccD) as reporters. Whereas LccC oxidized ABTS (Km = 0.3 mM), LccD did not react with ABTS but with DMA/ADBP (3,5-dimethylaniline/4-amino-2,6-dibromophenol). LccB reacted with DMA/ADBP and showed weak activity with ABTS. The different catalytic properties of LccC and LccD allow simultaneous use of these two laccases as reporters in one fungal strain.

Topics: Amino Acid Sequence; Aspergillus nidulans; Aspergillus niger; Benzothiazoles; Biotechnology; Cellulase; Fungal Proteins; Genes, Reporter; Indicators and Reagents; Laccase; Mitosporic Fungi; Molecular Sequence Data; Stachybotrys; Sulfonic Acids; Trichoderma