title: Comparison of dyes for easy detection of extracellular cellulases in fungi.
abstract: To evaluate which dye is effective in a plate assay for detecting extracellular cellulase activity produced by fungi, four chromogenic dyes including remazol brilliant blue, phenol red, congo red, and tryphan blue, were compared using chromagenic media. For the comparison, 19 fungal species belonging to three phyla, ascomycota, basidiomycota, and zygomycota were inoculated onto yeast nitrogen-based media containing different carbon substrates such as cellulose (carboxylmethyl and avicel types) and cellobiose labeled with each of the four dyes. Overall, the formation of clear zone on agar media resulting from the degradation of the substrates by the enzymes secreted from the test fungi was most apparent with media containing congo red. The detection frequency of cellulase activity was also most high on congo red-supplemented media. The results of this study showed that congo red is better dye than other three dyes in a plate assay for fungal enzyme detection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Institute of Basic Sciences, Dankook University, Cheonan 330-714, Korea.
authors.forename: Ji Hwan
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.forename: Ji Eun
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Dong Yeon
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Suh
authors.forename: Seung Beom
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Seung Ju
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.forename: Seong Hwan
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kim
keywords: Cellulase; Chromogenic media; Congo red; β-Glucosidase