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A comparative study on the disintegration of filamentous fungi

J Taubert1, U Krings, R G Berger

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

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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