Purification and properties of β-xylosidase from Penicillium wortmanni
A purification method for an extracellular β-xylosidase (β-D-xyloside xylohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.37) induced in Penicillium wortmanni is described. It includes diafiltration, acetone precipitation, and hydroxylapatite chromatography. The enzyme has a molecular weight of about 100 000. Its pH optimum is at pH 3.3–4.0 and it is most stable at pH 5.0–6.0. Its isoelectric point is at pH 5.0. Sulfhydryl and histidine reagents are not inhibitory. The influence of added cations and anions is negligible. N-Bromosuccinimide oxidation of two to three tryptophan residues per molecule entails rapid inactivation. Glycon-specificity studies indicate strict requirements at C-2, C-3, C-4, and C-5, although α-L-arabinopyranosides are substrates. As the enzyme seems to hydrolyse xylooligosaccharides endwise, with retention of configuration in the reaction product, the enzyme is a true glycosidase, probably operating by a double-inversion mechanism.