Pectolytic Enzymes of the Industrial Fungus Aspergillus kawachii

Aspergillus kawachii extracellular pectinases were screened in liquid cultures with different carbon sources. The fungus grown on citrus pectin or lemon pomace produced at least one of these inducible pectinases: acidic polygalacturonase, pectin lyase, pectin methylesterase, $\alpha$-L-arabinofuranosidase, $\alpha$-1,5-endoarabinase, $\beta$-D-galactosidase/exogalactanase, and $\beta$-1,4-endogalactanase. The lemon-pomace filtrates also contained significant $\alpha$-L-rhamnosidase and $\beta$-D-fucosidase activities. Most of the screened pectinases were active at pH 2.0-2.5, indicating that the A. kawachii enzymes were acidophilic. Under the culture conditions employed we could not detect enzymatic degradation of soybean rhamnogalacturonan. The A. kawachii pectinase-production-related regulatory phenomena of induction-repression resemble those described for other Aspergillus sp.