Decolorization of Remazol Brilliant Blue R by a Purified Laccase of Polyporus brumalis

A white rot basidiomycete Polyporus brumalis has been reported to induce two laccase genes under degradation conditions of dibutylphthalate. When this fungus was grown in a minimal medium, one laccase enzyme was detected by the native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. A laccase was purified through ammonium sulfate precipitation and ion exchange chromatography, and the estimated molecular weight was 70 kDa. The optimum pH and temperature of the purified laccase was pH 4.0 and 20 A degrees C, respectively. The K (m) value of the enzyme was 685.0 mu M, and the V (max) was 0.147 ODmin(-1) unit(-1) for o-tolidine. Purified laccase showed effective decolorization of a dye, Remazol Brilliant Blue R (RBBR), without any laccase mediator. However, this effect was reduced by a laccase inhibitor, kojic acid, which confirmed that the laccase was directly involved in the decolorization of RBBR.