Production of extracellular carbohydrases by mushrooms

Abstract

Seven different mushrooms, in submerged culture, are capable of utilizing various polysaccharides, i.e., xylan, mannan, cellulose, dextran, inulin, added in the medium as sole source of carbon. But chitin was found to be not utilized by any of them. Xylan is commonly utilized by all the mushrooms tested. Inducible and constitutive types of hydrolytic enzymes for those polysaccharides have been identified in the fermented broth of the mushrooms. Xylanase was found to be a constitutive enzyme for most of the strains exceipt for Panaeolus papilionaceus (Bull. ex Fr.) Fr. for which it is inducible.