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Appl Environ Microbiol. 1969 June; 17(6): 888-892
Copyright © 1969 American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Cellulolysis by Mucor pusillus¹

^a Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana 77907

ABSTRACT

Culture filtrates of Mucor pusillus NRRL 2543 contained hydrolytic enzymes that attacked native cellulose, acid-swollen cellulose, carboxymethylcellulose, and cellobiose. The distribution profiles of cellulolytic and ß-glucosidase activities after gel filtration on Sephadex G-75 showed the presence of several active peaks. Glucose was the only product of hydrolysis when native cellulose was used as the substrate. Acid-swollen cellulose, when treated with cellulase free of ß-glucosidase activity, gave rise to glucose, cellobiose, and at least two higher molecular weight components which were also hydrolyzed in turn to cellobiose and glucose. The presence of a multiple cellulolytic enzyme system was indicated, the components of which may have specific roles in the degradation of cellulose.

² Present address: Department of Biological Sciences, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15219.

³ Present address: Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15213.

¹ Presented in part at the 68th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, Detroit, Mich., 5-10 May 1968. Published with the approval of the Director of the Purdue University Agricultural Experiment Station as Journal Series Paper no. 3611.