MOLECULAR-WEIGHT OF ENDO-BETA-1,3-GLUCANASE FROM THE MARINE MOLLUSK SPISULA-SACHALINENSIS

The molecular weight of beta-1,3-glucanase from the marine mollusc Spi sula sachalinensis has been determined using liquid chromatography, el ectrophoresis, and sedimentation analysis. The methods employed for es tablishing the molecular weight of native enzyme, gel filtration on va rious matrices and ultracentrifugation in buffer systems, gave the mol ecular weight value of 22 kD. However, under denaturing conditions (ge l filtration in 6 M guanidine chloride, high performance exclusion chr omatography in trifluoroacetic acid, sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electr ophoresis) the molecular weight value was around 38 +/- 1 kD. Such a l owering of the molecular weight value for S. sachalinensis beta-1,3-gl ucanase which was observed also for other beta-1,3-glucanases suggests that the enzyme has a compact conformation and its movement during ge l filtration is slowed down in comparison with standard proteins.