Pectin lyase and pectin methylesterase production by Penicillium citrinum

Abstract

Penicillium citrinum Thorn produced enzymes with pectin lyase and pectin methylesterase activity when grown in liquid culture media containing pectic substances as sole carbon sources. The enzymes were also present in infected cocoa bean tissues. Slight pectin methylesterase activity was detected in healthy beans but a higher activity was present in tissues infected with P. citrinum. Diseased tissues contained pectin lyase activity which degraded the α-1,4-glycosidic bonds of pectic substances in a transeliminative manner, whereas healthy tissues possessed no detectable pectin lyase activity.