A thermostable endo-β-D-xylanase (1,4-β-D-xylan xylanohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.8) was purified from the culture filtrate of a thermophilic fungus Thermoascus aurantiacus C436, using a single chromatographic step on SP-Sephadex C50. The purified preparation was homogeneous based on denaturing polyacrylamide and isoelectric focusing gels. The xylanase had a subunit molecular mass of 32 000 daltons, isoelectric point at pH 7.1, apparent Km and Vmax of 0.17% (w/v) xylan and 61.3IU/mg protein, respectively, at 50 °C. The pH and temperature optima for xylan hydrolysis were pH 5.1 and 80 °C, respectively. The xylanase retained full activity following incubation at 60 °C for 97 h or 70 °C for 24 h. At 80 °C, the half-life of the enzyme was 54 min. The xylanase was not affected by copper sulfate, zinc sulfate, calcium chloride, cobalt chloride, barium chloride, magnesium sulfate, and EDTA at concentrations of 2 mM. Mercury chloride at 2 mM concentration abolished all xylanase activity, while lead acetate at the same concentration reduced xylanase activity by approximately 25%. From the initial hydrolysis products of xylan, the xylanase was deduced to hydrolyse xylan through an endo-acting mechanism.
Three of the xylanases produced by Trichoderma harzianum E58 passed through a polysulfone membrane with molecular mass cut-off of 10 000 daltons, even though their molecular mass had been estimated to be 20 000, 22 000, and 29 000 daltons. The 22 000 dalton xylanase was purified to homogeneity from a preparation containing a mixture of 22 000 and 20 000 dalton xylanase using a combination of hydrophobic column chromatography and chromatofocusing. This enzyme has a pI of 8.5, a specific activity of 0.28 U/mg, a temperature optimum between 45 and 50 °C, a pH optimum between 4.5 and 5.0, and the ability to cleave xylotriose. It differs from the other two xylanases by having a lower pI, a lower specific activity, and a lower thermal tolerance. All three xylanases are highly specific for xylan hydrolysis and they do not cleave xylobiose or release arabinose substituents from arabinoxylan. Their amino acid compositions suggest that they are three distinct gene products. The three enzymes are major components of the xylanolytic system of T. harzianum, which consists of at least two other xylanases and two β-xylosidases which are responsible for the release of arabinose substituents and the hydrolysis of xylobiose.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.