The subunit structure of beta-glucosidase from Botryodiplodia theobromae Pat.

1. A homologous series of beta-glcosidase (beta-D-glcoside glcohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.21), which varied in relative amounts in different preparations from cultures of similar and different age, was observed in cultures od Botryodiplodia theobromae Pat grown for 4-8 week on cotton flock (cellulose) as carbon source. 2. Aging of the purified high-molecular-weight species led to some amount of siddociation into a homolous series of lower-molecular-weight speices. 3. Rough molecular-weight estimates, by gel filtration, of the various species derived from the purifeid high-molecular-weight enzyme were 350000-3800000, 170000, 180000, 83000-87000 and 45000-47000. 4. Electron micrographs of the negatively stained 350000-380000-molecular-weight enzyme showed that the molecule is an octamer in which each roughly spherical monomer occupies a corner of a cube with each side about 7.14nm long. 5. Carboxamidomethylation of the reduced form of each molecular-weight species of the enzyme led to irreversible dissociation of the molecules into electrophoretically identical polypeptides with a moleclar weight of 10000-12000. 6. These results suggest a slow association-dissociation of the type (8n)in equilibrium 2 (4n) in equilibrium 4(2n) in equilibrium 8(n), where n is defined as the monomer. The monomer is in turn made up of four polypeptide a subunits whi-ch are non-catalytic. 7. The Michaelis constants (Km) and heat stability of the four wnzymically active molecular species derived from the purified enzyme increased with molecular complexity, whereas all four species were inhibited by glycerol (100nM) at low concentrations of substrate (o-nitrophenyl beta-D-glucopyranoside) but activated at high substrat concentrations. 8. Only the lowest-molecular-weight species (45species (45,000-47000 mol. wt.) showed substrate inhibition.