Effect of carbon source on extracellular (1 → 3)- and (1 → 6)-β-glucanase production byAcremonium persicinum

Abstract

The effect of carbon source on the levels of three (1 → 3)-β-glucanases and a (1 → 6)-β-glucanase in the culture filtrates of the filamentous fungus Acremonium persicinum was investigated. All four enzymes were produced during growth of the fungus on (1 → 3)-, (1 → 6)-, and (1 → 3)(1 → 6)-β-glucans as well as β-linked oligoglucosides. However, only one (1 → 3)-β-glucanase and the (1 → 6)-β-glucanase were detected during growth on a range of other carbon sources including glucose, carboxymethylcellulose, and the α-glucan pullulan. The presence of glucose in the medium markedly decreased the production of all four glucanases, although the concentration required to effect complete repression of enzyme levels varied for the different enzymes. Similar repressive effects were also observed with sucrose, fructose, and galactose. The most likely explanations for these observations are that the synthesis of the (1 → 6)-β-glucanase and one of the (1 → 3)-β-glucanases is controlled by carbon catabolite repression, while the remaining two (1 → 3)-β-glucanases are inducible enzymes subject to carbon catabolite repression.Key words: (1 → 3)-β-glucanase, (1 → 6)-β-glucanase, Acremonium persicinum, regulation of synthesis, fungal β-glucanases.