Abstract
The use of immunogold-cytochemical labelling techniques in electron microscopy of wood infected by basidiomycete fungi has assisted in the elucidation of the localisation of enzymes which degrade lignocellulose. The use of specific immunocytochemical techniques is discussed with respect to the authenticity and accuracy of the methods, the use of adequate controls in the gold-labelling procedure, and the immunospecificity of the antibodies.
Localisation of the lignin-degrading enzymes, lignin-peroxidase and laccase, has shown that these enzymes do not bind to wood cell walls unless the process of decay has already commenced. Similarly localisation of cellulases Endoglucanase II (EGII) and Cellobiohydrolase I (CBHI) has shown that these enzymes only bind to exposed ends of cellulose fibrils and to partially degraded areas of the wood cell wall. β-Glucosidase is always immobilised within the extracellular polysaccharide layer surrounding fungal hyphae.
This review postulates that there is regulation of the release sequence of these lignocellulolytic enzymes defining the spatial arrangement between the hyphae and the wood cell wall. This hypothesis is presented diagrammatically.
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Evans, C.S., Gallagher, I.M., Atkey, P.T. et al. Localisation of degradative enzymes in white-rot decay of lignocellulose. Biodegradation 2, 93–106 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00114599
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00114599