Laccases from Aureobasidium pullulans
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Updated: May 11, 2026

Isolation and Screening from Soil Biodiversity for Fungi Involved in the Degradation of Recalcitrant Materials
Published on: May 16, 2022
Joseph O Rich1, Timothy D Leathers, Amber M Anderson
1Renewable Product Technology Research Unit, National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1815 North University Street, Peoria, IL 61604, USA. joseph.rich@ars.usda.gov
Abstract:
Laccases are polyphenol oxidases (EC 1.10.3.2) that have numerous industrial and bioremediation applications. Laccases are well known as lignin-degrading enzymes, but these enzymes can play numerous other roles in fungi. In this study, 41 strains of the fungus Aureobasidium pullulans were examined for laccase production. Enzymes from A. pullulans were distinct from those from lignin-degrading fungi and associated with pigment production. Laccases from strains in phylogenetic clade 5, which produced a dark vinaceous pigment, exhibited a temperature optimum of 50-60°C and were stable for an hour at 50°C, unlike enzymes from the lignin-degrading fungi Trametes versicolor and Pycnoporus cinnabarinus. Laccase purified from A. pullulans strain NRRL 50381, a representative of clade 5, was glycosylated but had a molecular weight of 60-70kDa after Endo H treatment. Laccase purified from strain NRRL Y-2568, which produced a dark olivaceous pigment, was also glycosylated, but had a molecular weight of greater than 100kDa after Endo H treatment.

