Degradation of agarophytic red algal cell wall components by new crude enzyme preparations

Several new crude enzyme preparations were isolated from a marine associati on of the agarolytic bacterium Cytophaga diffluens and the infusorium Urone ma marinum, an axenic culture of Cytophaga diffluens, some species of land micro- and macromycetes adapted to assimilate red algal biomass and from th e marine mollusc Littorina littorea. Fungal and mollusc enzyme preparations were shown to have cellulase, xylanase, protease and agarase activities. F ungal agarase activity was revealed only after 3-4 passages of the culture on the medium containing algal biomass. Enzyme preparations from the associ ation and the pure bacterial culture growing on the medium with bactoagar a s the sole carbon source contained only agarase activity. The maximum speci fic agarase activity was found in a preparation from the marine association . The preparations obtained can be used for isolating protoplasts and singl e cells from red seaweed thalli.