Purification and characterization of a novel serine protease from the mushroom Pholiota nameko

A novel serine protease, with a molecular mass of 19 kDa and the N-terminal sequence of ARTPEAPAEV, was isolated from dried fruiting bodies of the mushroom Pholiota nameko. The purification protocol comprised ion exchange chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, Q-Sepharose and SP-Sepharose, and gel filtration on Superdex 75. It was unadsorbed on DEAE-cellulose and Q-Sepharose but adsorbed on SP-Sepharose. It exhibited an optimum temperature at 50°C, an optimum pH at pH 8.8, a Km of 5.64 mg/mL and a Vmax of 0.98 μmol/min/mL against substrate casein. A number of metal ions inhibited the enzyme including Pb(2+), Mn(2+), Ca(2+), Hg(2+), Zn(2+), Cu(2+), Co(2+), Fe(3+) and Al(3+), with the inhibition of the last two cations being the most potent. K(+) and Mg(2+) slightly enhanced, while Li(+) moderately potentiated the activity of the protease. The protease was strongly inhibited by phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF), suggesting that it is a serine protease.     

Purification and characterisation of an alkaliphilic esterase from a culinary medicinal mushroom, Sparassis crispa

In this study, we found that the fruiting body of the medicinal and edible mushroom Sparassis crispa produces an alkaliphilic esterase. The substrate specificity of this esterase was high for a p-nitrophenyl acetate substrate. The S. crispa esterase was purified using ammonium sulphate precipitation, anion exchange and gel filtration chromatography. The recovery and purification yields of the enzyme were 15–17% and 70–73 folds from six different strains of S. crispa, respectively. The molecular weight of the purified enzyme was approximately 60 kDa, as determined by SDS–PAGE. A zymogram analysis using a tributyrin substrate revealed that this enzyme is an esterase. The optimum pH and temperature were 8.0 and 50 °C, respectively. The pH and temperature stability profiles show that this enzyme is more stable under alkaline conditions and at 30–40 °C. K_m and V_max for this esterase enzyme acting on p-nitrophenyl acetate were 0.2 mM and 0.5 U/mg proteins, respectively.     

Characterisation of esterolytic activity from two wild mushroom species, Amanita vaginata var. vaginata and Tricholoma terreum

Characterisation of esterase activities from the edible mushroom species, Amanita vaginata var. vaginata and Tricholoma terreum, were investigated. Native electrophoresis of the crude extracts prepared from both mushroom samples showed the presence of esterolytic activities. The extracts had the greatest activity in the presence of p-nitrophenyl butyrate (pNPB) as a substrate. pH and temperature optima were found to be 8.0 and 30 °C for both enzymes, respectively. V_max and K_m values were determined as 14.2 U/l and 71 μM for A. vaginata var. vaginata and 34.6 U/l and 9.6 μM for T. terreum, respectively. The pH-stability profile showed a stationary line between 3.0 and 10.0 for both enzymes. The esterolytic activities from the extracts were maintained between 10 and 40 °C for 4 h and started to decrease at 50 °C. The effects of EDTA, NaN₃, DTT and PMSF on the enzyme activity were also investigated.     

Comparative characterization of monophenolase and diphenolase activities from a wild edible mushroom (Macrolepiota mastoidea)

In this study, Macrolepiota mastoidea, a wild edible mushroom, was evaluated for its polyphenol oxidase potential. Native electrophoresis, stained by l-dihydroxyphenylalanine, of the crude extracts from this species showed two bands having R_f values of 0.38 (minor) and 0.50 (major), supporting a polyphenol oxidase potential. The crude extracts showed monophenolase activity against 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-propionic acid and diphenolase activity against 4-methylcatechol as substrates. Monophenolase and diphenolase activities of enzyme extract prepared from M. mastoidea showed pH optimum values at pH 6.0 and pH 4.0, respectively. The extracts retained about 100% and 60% of their original monophenolase and diphenolase activities at their optimum pH values, respectively. It was estimated from thermodynamic data that M. mastoidea had a thermostable monophenolase activity. Thiourea and ascorbic acid were highly potential inhibitors for monophenolase, and ascorbic acid and sodium metabisulphite for diphenolase activity. It is clear from the present results that the enzyme extracts prepared from M. mastoidea possess polyphenol oxidase activities with interesting properties.     

Partial purification and characterisation of endoglucanase from an edible mushroom, Lepista flaccida

A crude extract was prepared from the fruiting body of Lepista flaccida, an edible mushroom and endoglucanase activity of the extract was increased 14-fold with ammonium sulphate precipitation. Maximum enzyme activity was seen at pH 4.0 and 50 °C when carboxymethylcellulose was used as a substrate. K_0.5 and V_max values of the partially purified endoglucanase were 7.7 mg/ml and 25 ± 0.9 U/mg protein, respectively. The enzyme was quite stable over a broad range of pH (2.0–9.0) at 4 °C. When it was incubated at temperatures between 20 °C and 60 °C for 12 h, it conserved much of its original activity (over 40%). The activity of the enzyme increased by 234 ± 3.6% in the presence of 1 mM Mn²⁺. The endoglucanase was inhibited by EDTA, PMSF, β-ME and DDT. In conclusion, pH and thermal stability of the L. flaccida endoglucanase could make it useful for industrial purposes.     

Characterization of a heterogalactan: Some nutritional values of the edible mushroom Flammulina velutipes

Production and consume of mushrooms have grown in the world, and beside these, the nutritional properties and biological active components of fungi have received more attention by researchers. Considering these, a mannofucogalactan was isolated from Flammulina velutipes, and characterized using ¹³C and ¹H (obs.), ¹³C HMQC nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and methylation analysis. The monosaccharide composition of this polymer was determined by GC–MS and showed Fucp, Manp, and Galp in the molar ratio 20:16:64, respectively. ¹³C NMR and ¹H (obs.), ¹³C HMQC indicated an anomeric region containing signals (C-1/H-1) at δ 102.9/5.19, 102.0/5.16, and 98.8/5.05 corresponding, sequentially, to non-reducing end of α-d-Manp, 3-O-substituted α-l-Fucp, and 6-O- and 2,6-di-O-substituted α-d-Galp units. Along with methylation analysis, these data showed a structure with a main chain composed of 6-O-substituted Galp units, partially substituted at O-2 by 3-O-d-mannopyranosyl-l-fucopyranosyl, α-d-mannopyranosyl, and in a minor proportion, α-l-fucopyranosyl groups. Furthermore, some nutritional values of this edible mushroom were evaluated, like amino acid and mineral nutrient contents.     

Religiosin B, a milk-clotting serine protease from Ficus religiosa

A novel milk-clotting serine protease, named religiosin B, is purified from Ficus religiosa. The molecular mass of the protein is 63,000 with pI value of pH 7.6. The proteolytic activity of the enzyme is strongly inhibited by phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride (PMSF) and chymostatin. Religiosin B acts optimally at pH 8.0-8.5 and temperature 55 °C. The molar absorption coefficient of the enzyme is 149,725 M⁻¹cm⁻¹ with 23 tryptophan, 15 tyrosine and 7cysteine residues per molecule of the enzyme. The enzyme shows broad substrate specificity with natural as well as synthetic substrates. Religiosin B is highly stable against denaturants and metal ions as well as over a wide range of pH and temperature. The de novo sequencing confirms the novelty of the enzyme. In addition to its high milk-clotting ability, it could be used in the cheese industry, as well as other food and biotechnological industries.     

Polyphenol oxidase potentials of three wild mushroom species harvested from Lişer High Plateau,Trabzon

Crude enzyme extracts were prepared from Armillaria mellea (A. mellea), Lepista nuda (L. nuda) and Hypholoma fasciculare (H. fasciculare), which were harvested from the Li?er High Plateau-Maçka (Trabzon, Turkey). The crude polyphenol oxidase (PPO) extracts from each mushroom were highly active against 4-methylcatechol. Native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, stained by L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine, showed the polyphenol oxidase potentials. The optimum pH value, for each enzyme, was 7.0. When enzyme extracts were incubated at pH 7.0 for 24 h at 4 °C, it was observed that L. nuda and H. fasciculare enzyme activities decreased by about 26% and 18%, respectively, but, A. mellea enzyme activity increased by about 11%. The temperature optima of A. mellea, L. nuda and H. fasciculare were, respectively, 30, 30 and 20 °C. Cr³⁺ and Cu²⁺ ions inhibited each activity. Also, sodium metabisulphite and ascorbic acid were strong inhibitors of the enzyme activities.     

A novel aspartic protease from the viscera of Sardinelle (Sardinella aurita): Purification and characterisation

A novel aspartic protease was extracted from the defatted viscera of sardinelle (Sardinella aurita) and purified, with a 9.5-fold increase in specific activity and 23.3% recovery. The molecular weight of the purified enzyme was estimated to be 17 kDa by sodium dodecyl sulphate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS–PAGE). The purified enzyme appeared as a single band on native-PAGE. The optimum pH and temperature for protease activity were around 3.0 and 40 °C, respectively. The enzyme showed pH stability between 2.0 and 5.0 and retained more than 50% of its activity after heating for 30 min at 50 °C. The enzyme lost 90% of its activity after incubation with pepstatin A at room temperature, but was not inhibited by soybean trypsin inhibitor or phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride. Its K_m value was determined to be 0.73 × 10⁻⁴ M using haemoglobin as a substrate. The N-terminal 12 amino acid sequence of the purified acidic protease was R V I I E D X D Q F C T. This sequence showed low homology with aspartic peptidases of several other species of fish, suggesting that the enzyme is a new aspartic protease.     

Purification,structural characterization,and technological properties of an aspartyl proteinase from submerged cultures of Mucor mucedo DSM 809

An extracellular aspartyl proteinase from Mucor mucedo DSM 809 submerged cultures was purified by a two-steps chromatographic procedure. The enzyme had a molecular weight (MW) of 32.7 kDa, and an isoelectric point (pI) value of 4.29; no evidence of N-linked glycosylation was found. As judged by mass spectrometry, the primary structure of the M. mucedo enzyme presented homology with Rhizopus spp. proteinases. The secondary structure showed 4% α-helix, 48% β-sheet and 48% random coil structure in 20 mM phosphate buffer (pH 5.8), as evidenced by circular dichroism spectroscopy. When acting on milk to provoke curd formation, the proteinase showed maximum potency at pH 5.0 and at 40 °C. The enzyme was heat-sensitive and became completely inactivated after incubation at 55 °C for 10 min. These results indicate that the milk-clotting enzyme from M. mucedo can be considered as a potential substitute for bovine chymosin in cheese manufacturing.     

Purification and partial characterization of polyphenol oxidase from the flower buds of Lonicera japonica Thunb.

The purification and partial enzymology characteristics of polyphenol oxidase from Lonicera japonica (LjPPO) were studied in this paper. The crude enzyme solution was purified in turn by ammonium sulfate, dialysis, and DEAE-cellulose ion-exchange chromatography after preliminary treatments. Purification resulted in 31-fold enrichment and its molecular weight was estimated to be ∼49 kDa exhibited on sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS–PAGE). The pH for optimal conditions of LjPPO was 7.5, and the temperature was 25 °C, in addition, the inhibitive effects of inhibitors were enhanced positively with increasing of the concentration. Moreover, crude enzyme solution showed diphenolase activity toward catechol, l-dopa and chlorogenic acid rather than monophenolase and triphenolase activity, and the best substrate was catechol because of the highest V_max/K_m value. However, the oxidation of diphenol related to browning significantly, so the data obtained in this research provided theoretical basis for the prevention of enzymatic browning of L. japonica during processing.     

Purification and characterization of a novel glucoamylase from Fusarium solani

Thermostable enzymes are currently being investigated to improve industrial processes of starch saccharification. A novel glucoamylase was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity from the culture supernatant of Fusarium solani on a fast protein liquid chromatographic system (FPLC). The recovery of glucoamylase after gel filtration on FPLC was 31.8% with 26.2-fold increase in specific activity. The enzyme had a molecular mass of 40 kDa by SDS-PAGE and 41 kDa by gel filtration. The glucoamylase exhibited optimum activity at pH 4.5. The K_cat and K_m were 441/min and 1.9 mg/ml, respectively, for soluble starch, specificity constant (K_cat/K_m) was 232. The enzyme was thermally stable at 50 °C and retained 79% activity after 60 min at this temperature. The half-life of the enzyme was 26 min at 60°C. The enzyme was slightly stimulated by Cu²⁺ and Mg²⁺ and strongly inhibited by Hg²⁺, Pb²⁺, Zn²⁺, Ni²⁺ and Fe³⁺.     

New alkaline trypsin from the intestine of Grey triggerfish (Balistes capriscus) with high activity at low temperature: Purification and characterisation

A highly alkaline trypsin from the intestine of Grey triggerfish (Balistes capriscus), with high activity at low temperature, was purified and characterised. The enzyme was purified to homogeneity using acetone precipitation, Sephadex G-100 gel filtration and Mono Q-Sepharose anion-exchange chromatography, with a 13.9-fold increase in specific activity and 41.3% recovery. The molecular weight of the purified alkaline trypsin was estimated to be 23.2 kDa by sodium dodecyl sulphate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS–PAGE) and size exclusion chromatography. Purified trypsin appeared as a single band on native–PAGE. Interestingly, the enzyme was highly active over a wide range of pH, from 9.0 to 11.5, with an optimum at pH 10.5, using Nα-benzoyl-DL-arginine-p-nitroanilide (BAPNA) as a substrate. The relative activities at pH 9.0, 11.5 and 12.0 were 86.5%, 92.6% and 52.4%, respectively. The enzyme was extremely stable in the pH range 7.0–12.0. In addition, the enzyme had high activity at low and moderate temperatures with an optimum at around 40 °C and had more than 80% of its maximum activity at 20 °C. The purified enzyme was strongly inhibited by soybean trypsin inhibitor (SBTI) and phenylmethylsulphonyl fluoride (PMSF), a serine protease inhibitor. The enzyme showed extreme stability towards oxidising agents, retaining about 87% and 80% of its initial activity after 1 h incubation at 40 °C in the presence of 1% sodium perborate and 1% H₂O₂, respectively. In addition, the enzyme showed excellent stability and compatibility with some commercial solid detergents.     

Isolation and characterization of a lectin with antifungal activity from Egyptian Pisum sativum seeds

A plant lectin isolated in its pure state from the Egyptian seeds of Pisum sativum (PSL) produced two bands in SDS–PAGE (5.53 and 19.3 kDa; i.e. α and β chain) but one peak by gel filtration chromatography on Sephadex G-100, corresponding to 50 kDa, i.e., a dimeric structure of two monomers, each consisting of one α and one β subunit. PSL is a glycoprotein bound with glucose (2 mol/mol of protein) and stabilized by 2 atoms of each of Ca²⁺ and Mn²⁺ per molecule of protein. It highly agglutinated human, rabbit and rat erythrocytes but weakly agglutinated chicken erythrocytes, while no agglutination occurred with sheep erythrocytes. Hemagglutination was markedly affected by acidic pH, but was heat stable below 60 °C for 30 min. Among the various tested sugars, PSL agglutination was most inhibited by mannose. PSL is rich in hydroxyl amino acids while totally lacking sulfur amino acids. PSL inhibited the growth of Aspergillus flavus, Trichoderma viride and Fusarium oxysporum.     

Artocarpus integer leaf protease: Purification and characterisation

The presence of a protease in Artocarpus integer leaves, which are traditionally used as a meat tenderiser, was verified by the presence of a band at 69 kDa, using caseinolytic zymography. Purification by temperature phase partitioning with Triton X-114, ammonium sulphate precipitation and gel filtration chromatography yielded a preparation with a 12-fold increase in enzyme purity and a final specific activity of 76.67 U/mg. The cysteinic nature of this enzyme was confirmed through inhibition of enzyme activity by E-64 and iodoacetamide and enhancement of activity by cysteine and 2-mercaptoethanol. The protease retained 70% of its activity over a broad pH range (pH 6–12), with optimal activity recorded at pH 10 and 40 °C. The enzyme was stable at temperatures up to 70 °C, with 80% of its activity intact. Addition of 5 mM Ca²⁺ stimulated enzyme activity and a kinetic study of the enzyme yielded K_m and V_max values of 0.304 mg/mL and 0.735 mg/mL/min, respectively.     

A comparative study of tocopherols composition and antioxidant properties of in vivo and in vitro ectomycorrhizal fungi

In aerobic organisms, the free radicals are constantly being produced during the normal cellular metabolism. The antioxidant properties of many organisms and particularly of wild mushrooms with their content in antioxidant compounds such as tocopherols, can detoxify potentially damaging forms of activated oxygen. Herein, a comparative study of tocopherols composition and antioxidant properties of in vivo (fruiting bodies) and in vitro (mycelia) ectomycorrhizal fungi: Paxillus involutus and Pisolithus arhizus. Tocopherols were determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to a fluorescence detector. The antioxidant properties were studied in terms of DPPH radical-scavenging activity, reducing power and inhibition of β-carotene bleaching. Fruiting bodies revealed the highest antioxidant properties, including scavenging effects on free radicals (EC₅₀ = 0.61 and 0.56 mg/ml) and inhibition of lipid peroxidation capacity (EC₅₀ = 0.40 and 0.24 mg/ml for P. involutus and P. arhizus, respectively), than mycelia produced in vitro cultures. Nevertheless, mycelia revealed higher levels of total tocopherols than fruiting bodies, and particularly P. arhizus mycelium proved to be a powerful source of γ-tocopherol (154.39 μg/g dry weight).     

Characterisation of acid protease expressed from Aspergillus oryzae MTCC 5341

Aspergillus oryzae (MTCC 5341) has the largest expanse of hydrolytic genes, that includes 135 protease genes coding for alkaline, acid as well as neutral proteases. This study reports the purification and characterisation of an acid protease obtained from A. oryzae MTCC 5341. A. oryzae MTCC 5341 produces one of the highest reported acid protease activities reported so far (8.3 × 10⁵ U/g dry bran). The extracellular acid protease (47 kDa) was found to be active in the pH range 3.0–4.0 and stable in the pH range 2.5–6.5. Optimum temperature for activity was 55 °C. The protease was purified 17–fold with a yield of 29%. The enzyme was characterised to be an aspartate protease by inhibition studies, using pepstatin and its ability to activate trypsinogen. The enzyme cleaved the B-chain of insulin at L–V and Y–T residues.     

Trace element content of Boletus tomentipes mushroom collected from Yunnan,China

The contents of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mg, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn in eleven fruiting bodies of Boletus tomentipes were determined. The results showed the values of the studied elements decreased in the order: Mg (208–279 mg kg⁻¹) > Fe (106–137 mg kg⁻¹) > Mn (29.5–46.8. mg kg⁻¹) > Zn (18.7–23.1 mg kg⁻¹), > Cu (11.4–15.8 mg kg⁻¹) > Cr (3.36–4.78 mg kg⁻¹) > Pb (1.38–3.88 mg kg⁻¹) > Ni (1.68–3.01 mg kg⁻¹) > Cd (0.16–0.32 mg kg⁻¹) > As (0.10–0.24 mg kg⁻¹) > Hg (<0.06 mg kg⁻¹).