Canadian Forest Service Publications
Immunocytochemical localization of Laccase L1 in wood decayed by Rigidoporus lignosus. 1992. Nicole, M.; Chamberland, H.; Geiger, J.P.; Lecours, N.; Valéro, J.R.; Rio, B.; Ouellette, G.B. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 58(5): 1727-1739.
Year: 1992
Issued by: Laurentian Forestry Centre
Catalog ID: 16546
Language: English
Availability: PDF (request by e-mail)
Abstract
The cellular distribution of laccase Li during degradation of wood chips by Rigidoporus lignosus, a tropical white rot fungus, was investigated by using anti-laccase Li polyclonal antisera in conjunction with immunolabeling techniques. The enzyme was localized in the fungal cytoplasm and was associated with the plasmalemma and the fungal cell wall. An extracellular sheath, often observed around fungal cells, often contained laccase molecules. Diffusion of laccase within apparently unaltered wood was seldom observed. The enzyme penetrated all degraded cell walls, from the secondary wall toward the primary wall, including the middle lamella. Xylem cells showing advanced stages of decay were sometimes devoid of significant labeling. These data suggest that the initial attack on wood was not performed by laccase Li of R. lignosus. Previous alteration of the lignocellulose complex may facilitate the movement of laccase within the wood cell walls. This immunogold study revealed that laccase localization during wood degradation seems limited not in space but in time.