Color Variants of Aureobasidium pullulans Overproduce Xylanase with Extremely High Specific Activity

Xylanase activity from naturally occurring color variants of Aureobasidium pullulans was associated with extracellular monomeric proteins of 20 to 21 kilodaltons. Xylanase represented nearly half the total extracellular protein, with a yield of up to 0.3 g of xylanase per liter. The specific activity of partially purified xylanase exceeded 2,000 IU/mg. Xylanase from typically pigmented strains appeared similar to that from color variants with respect to molecular weight, pH and temperature optima, and specific activity of purified (but not crude) enzyme. However, xylanase from typical strains made up only about 1.0% of total extracellular protein. Xylanase from strains of Cryptococcus albidus was associated with abundant proteins of about 43 kilodaltons and showed much lower specific activity.