title: Polygalacturonase secreted by yeasts from Brazilian semi-arid environments.
abstract: Microbial pectinolytic enzymes are known to play a commercially important role in a number of industrial processes. The objective of this study was to investigate the extracellular polygalacturonases of yeasts isolated from Brazilian semi-arid environments. Among the 250 colonies tested, only 33 produced extracellular polygalacturonases: Aureobasidium pullulans (18 isolates), Candida boidinii (one isolate), Trichosporonoides sp. (three isolates), Kluyveromyces marxianus (one isolate), Cryptococcus liquefaciens (one isolate), Pseudozyma sp. (four isolates), and yeast-like related to fungal endophyte (five isolates). The highest activity of polygalacturonase was observed in Pseudozyma sp. CCMB 300 (14.17+/-0.08 micromol acid galacturonic released/min/mg protein). This study shows the potential of yeasts and yeast-like organisms isolated from Brazilian semi-arid environments to produce pectinolytic enzymes.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Enzimologia e Tecnologia das Fermentações, Departamento de Saúde, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana (UEFS), BA, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rodrigo Q
authors.initials: RQ
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.forename: Carlos A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Rosa
authors.forename: Ana Paula T
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Uetanabaro
authors.forename: Antônio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Azeredo
authors.forename: Aristóteles Góes
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Neto
authors.forename: Sandra A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Assis
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil; D030561:Databases, Nucleic Acid; D003889:Desert Climate; D005524:Food Technology / Q000379:methods; D005525:Food-Processing Industry / Q000379:methods; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005658:Fungi / Q000145:classification / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005800:Genes, Fungal; D010368:Pectins / Q000378:metabolism; D010802:Phylogeny; D011096:Polygalacturonase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D013559:Symbiosis; D015003:Yeasts / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D005656:Fungal Proteins; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal; C065096:RNA, ribosomal, 26S; D010368:Pectins; D011096:Polygalacturonase