Action of Ophiostoma piceae proteinase and lipase on wood nutrients

Abstract

Fungi excrete a variety of extracellular enzymes capable of breaking down complex nutrient sources into products that can be directly metabolized by the fungi. An extracellular proteinase and lipase produced by the sap-staining fungus, Ophiostoma piceae, have been purified and the specificities of these enzymes for a variety of substrates have been determined. In this work, we show that these enzymes were able to hydrolyze natural substrates isolated directly from wood. Key words: Ophiostoma piceae, triglycerides lipase, proteinase, carbohydrates, proteins.