Purification and some properties of a β-glucanase from a strain,Trichoderma reesei GXC

β-glucanase was purified from a solid-state culture ofTrichoderma reesei on wheat bran in three steps which comprised ammonium sulfate precipitation, Sephadex G-100 chromatography, and DEAE-Sephadex A-50 chromatography. The molecular mass was determined to be 35.21 kilodaltons by sodium dodecyl sulfate-12.5% polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The β-glucanase at low pHs was more stable than that at high pHs, and optimum pH was 5.0. The optimum temperature was 60°C, and β-glucanase was relatively stable at below 40°C for 60 min. TheKm of the enzyme on β-glucan was 10.86 mg/ml, and theVmax on β-glucan was 14286 μmol of glucose equivalents per mg of the pure enzyme per min. The β-glucanase activity was significantly inhibited by Fe3+ ions, and was reduced in the presence of Cu2+ ions, Mn2+ ions and Mg2+ ions at 5 mmol/L and 10 mmol/L, respectively. The β-glucanase activity was stimulated by Co2+ ions, Ca2+ ions, Zn2+ ions, and Fe2+ ions at 1 mmol/L and 5 mmol/L, respectively.