SUBCELLULAR-LOCALIZATION OF VANILLYL-ALCOHOL OXIDASE IN PENICILLIUM-SIMPLICISSIMUM

Growth of Penicillium simplicissimum on anisyl alcohol, veratryl alcoh ol or 3-(methoxymethyl)phenol, is associated with the synthesis of rel atively large amounts of the hydrogen peroxide producing flavoprotein vanillyl-alcohol oxidase (VAO), Immunocytochemistry revealed that the enzyme has a dual location namely in peroxisomes and in the cytosol, T he C-terminus of the primary structure of VAO displays a WKL-COOH sequ ence which might function as a peroxisomal targeting signal type 1 (PT S1). As VAO activity results in production of hydrogen peroxide also t he subcellular location of a recently characterized co-inducible catal ase-peroxidase was studied, As VAO, this hydroperoxidase is also distr ibuted throughout the cytosol and peroxisomes. (C) 1998 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.