A comparative study on the disintegration of filamentous fungi

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J Taubert1, U Krings, R G Berger

  • 1Institut für Lebensmittelchemie, Universität Hannover, Wunstorfer Strasse 14, 30453, Hannover, Germany.

Journal of Microbiological Methods
|October 25, 2000
PubMed

Insights

Percussion grinding is the most effective method for fungal cell disintegration, outperforming common techniques. This method, sometimes combined with Ultra-Turrax pretreatment, efficiently releases proteins and enzymes from filamentous fungi.

Area of Science:

  • Mycology
  • Biochemistry
  • Biotechnology

Background:

  • Filamentous fungi are crucial in various biotechnological applications.
  • Efficiently releasing intracellular components from fungal cells is essential for downstream applications.
  • Standard cell disintegration methods for yeasts and bacteria are often ineffective for fungi.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the efficacy of different cell disintegration methods for filamentous fungi.
  • To identify the optimal method for protein and enzyme release from fungal cells.
  • To compare the effectiveness of percussion grinding, Ultra-Turrax homogenization, chemical treatment, and lyophilization.

Main Methods:

  • Tested percussion grinding, Ultra-Turrax homogenization, chemical treatment, and lyophilization on Ganoderma applanatum and Pycnoporus cinnabarinus.
  • Monitored protein release as a measure of cell disruption.
  • Assayed cytoplasmic glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity in crude extracts to assess enzyme release.

Main Results:

  • Filamentous fungal cells exhibited significant resistance to common disintegration methods.
  • Percussion grinding demonstrated superior efficacy in disrupting fungal cells.
  • Combining percussion grinding with Ultra-Turrax pretreatment yielded the best results for protein and enzyme release.

Conclusions:

  • Percussion grinding is a highly effective method for the disintegration of filamentous fungi.
  • The choice of disintegration method is critical for efficient extraction of intracellular fungal components.
  • Optimized cell disruption protocols are necessary for advancing fungal biotechnology.

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