Lipases of Fonsecaea pedrosoi and Phialophora verrucosa

Lipase activity was demonstrable titrimetrically in the culture filtrates of Fonsecaea pedrosoi and Phialophora verrucosa on the 6th day of incubation reaching a peak on the 15th and 12th days respectively for the two fungi. Purified lipases of F. pedrosoi and P. verrucosa, with specific activities of 36.0 and 39.4 fold increase respectively, were obtained by cold acetone extraction, gel filtration followed by ion exchange chromatography. The lipases had the same optimum pH (5.5) and temperature (35 degrees C). The molecular weights of the lipases of F. pedrosoi and P. verrucosa, estimated by gel filtration on Sephadex G-100, were 25,000 and 20,000, respectively and the enzymes showed broad substrate specificity. The possible role of lipase in the pathogenesis of infection caused by the fungi is discussed.