The three beta-1,3-glucanases from Acremonium blochii strain C59 appear to be encoded by separate genes

Three exocellular beta-1,3-glucanases from Acremonium blochii strain C59, BGN3.2, BGN3.3 and BGN3.4, were purified. Two, BGN3.2 and BGN3.4 appeared to act as exo-enzymes against laminarin from Laminaria digitata, while BGN3.3 displayed an endo-mode of action. The N-terminal amino acid sequence data for BGN3.2 and BGN3.4 suggested these two enzymes may be encoded by different genes. The gene encoding the BGN3.2 glucanase was fully sequenced, and its deduced amino acid sequence was similar to those for all other sequenced fungal exo-beta-1,3-glucanases. This BGN3.2 gene consists of an uninterrupted ORF of 2349 bp encoding 783 amino acids possibly with two cleavage sites for the potential removal of a pre- and pro-protein, respectively. A DNA fragment encoding a portion of the BGN3.4 gene was amplified by PCR, and the nucleotide sequence of this fragment confirmed that BGN3.2 and BGN3.4 are encoded by different genes. The internal peptide sequences of BGN3.3 were not present in the amino acid sequence deduced from the BGN3.2 gene, reinforcing the view that BGN3.3 is also genetically different to BGN3.2. Genetic differences between multiple forms of fungal beta-1,3-glucanases from a single fungus have not been reported previously.