Polarimetry and 13C n.m.r. show that the hydrolyses of beta-D-glucopyranosyl fluoride by beta(1-->3)-glucanases from Phanerochaete chrysosporium and Sporotrichum dimorphosporum have opposite stereochemistries.

The time courses of optical rotation and fluoride ion release during hydrolysis of beta-D-glucopyranosyl fluoride by the beta(1-->3)-glucanase of Phanerochaete chrysosporium (J. L. Copa-Patiño and P. Broda, unpublished work) indicated that the initial sugar product was beta-D-glucopyranose. This was confirmed by monitoring the hydrolysis of 1-[13C]beta-D-glucopyranosyl fluoride by this enzyme with 13C n.m.r. (without proton decoupling). The same two techniques were used to confirm that hydrolysis of beta-D-glucopyranosyl fluoride by the exo beta(-->3)-glucanase of 'Basidiomycete QM 806' (identified as Sporotrichum dimorphosporum) yielded alpha-glucopyranose as first sugar product, in accordance with previous results using laminarin as substrate [Parrish and Reese (1963) Carbohydr. Res. 3, 424-429; Nelson (1970) J. Biol. Chem. 245, 869-872].