Decolorization of Alizarin Red and other synthetic dyes by a recombinant laccase from Pichia pastoris.

A cDNA encoding for a laccase was isolated from the white-rot fungus Lenzites gibbosa by RT-PCR and expressed in the Pichia pastoris. The laccase native signal peptide efficiently directed the secretion of the recombinant laccase in an active form. Factors influencing laccase expression, such as pH, cultivation temperature, copper concentration and methanol concentration, were optimized. The recombinant enzyme was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity, and was estimated to have a MW of ~61.5 kDa. The purified enzyme behaved similarly to the native laccase produced by L. gibbosa and efficiently decolorized Alizarin Red, Neutral Red, Congo Red and Crystal Violet, without the addition of redox mediators. The decolorization capacity of this recombinant enzyme suggests that it could be a useful biocatalyst for the treatment of dye-containing effluents. This study is the first report on the synthetic dye decolorization by a recombinant L. gibbosa laccase.