New efficient producers of fungal laccases

Abstract

Two promising strains of laccase producers--Lentinus strigosus 1566 and Steccherinum ochraceum 1833--were found by screening of basidiomycetes. The cultivation conditions increasing the enzyme yield were selected. The maximal laccase activity was observed in the case of submerged cultivation of the mycelium immobilized on polycaproamide fibers in rich media in the presence of 2 mM CuSO4 in combination with the optimal inducer, namely, 2,6-dimethylphenol for L. strigosus and 2,4-dimethylphenol for S. ochraceum. Under these conditions, the activity of S. ochraceum laccase amounted to 33.1 U/ml and that of L. strigosus, to 186.5 U/ml. Anthracene was transformed with S. ochraceum laccase, and its oxidation to anthraquinone was demonstrated by mass spectrometry.