The activation of cellulases from different sources by actin

Abstract

Actin has been shown to be a potent activator of the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose, its addition to the reaction mixture leading to an increase in the hydrolysis rate of up to 6–7 fold. The action of actin is directed primarily towards endoglucanases of cellulase complexes. The degree of activation varies in relation to the cellulases from different microbial sources. The activation of the enzymatic hydrolysis of an insoluble cellulose by actin does not affect the Michaelis constant but increases the maximum velocity of the reaction. Increasing the actin concentration leads to a linear increase in the activation effect which indicates a rather poor binding of actin with the cellulases under study