J. Basic Microbiol. 41 (2001) 3 – 4, 143 – 148 (Department of Biochemistry, State University of Maringá, Avenida Colombo, 5790, 87020-900, Maringá, PR, Brazil) A new species of Fusarium producer of galactose oxidase IONE PARRA BARBOSA-TESSMANN, DIONI ANTUNES DA SILVA, ROSANE MARINA PERALTA and CARLOS KEMMELMEIER (Received 29 January 2001/Accepted 25 March 2001) Fifty-two isolates of Fusarium species and one of Gibberella fujikuroi were tested for galactose oxidase (GO) production. Five Fusarium isolates contained GO activity in the culture filtrate: three F. graminearum and one each F. moniliforme f. sp. subglutinans and F. acuminatum. This is the first time F. acuminatum is reported to be a producer of GO enzyme. GO enzyme activity produced by isolates was assayed through a time course. Moreover, GO protein was partially purified from the most productive four isolates to show that the activity measured in the culture filtrates was due to the presence of GO protein. Galactose oxidase (GO) (D-galactose: O 2 oxidoredutase, EC 1.1.3.9) is a member of the radical copper oxidase family (WHITTAKER and WHITTAKER 1998). GO catalyses the oxi- dation of many alcohols, including sugars, into their corresponding aldehydes, with the concomitant reduction of molecular oxygen to hydrogen peroxide (TRESSEL and KOSMAN 1982). Enzymatic studies on GO have been in the limelight due to its several analytical, medical, and carbohydrate synthesis applications (TRESSEL and KOSMAN 1982, RYPINS et al. 1985, MYERS et al. 1991, MAZUR 1991), its unusual catalytic mechanism (ITO et al. 1991, ITO et al. 1992) and its recently described application on early detection of cancer (CARTER et al. 1997, SAID et al. 1999). The production of extracellular GO has been detected in a few filamentous fungal spe- cies, including Dactylium dendroides (Hypomyces roseollus) (NRRL 2903; ATCC 46032) (TRESSEL and KOSMAN 1982), Gibberella fujikuroi (Fusarium moniliforme) (AISAKA and TERADA 1981), and Fusarium graminearum (Gibberella zeae) (DIAS and KEMMELMEIER 1987). Many studies on GO synthesis, secretion, production, purification, and characteriza- tion have been done with the GO fungus producer (GOFP), D. dendroides, isolated in the southern region of Brazil as a mycoparasite of Polyporus circinatus (AVIGAD et al. 1962, NOBLES and MADHOSINGH 1963). The gaoA gene encoding GO from D. dendroides has been cloned and sequenced (MCPHERSON et al. 1992), and a structural model of the GO protein has been established at 1.7 nm resolution by X-ray crystallography (ITO et al. 1991, 1992). Even though the name D. dendroides has existed for some 30 years, there are con- sistent data in the literature that indicate an incorrect taxonomic classification of the GOFP (KEMMELMEIER and ZANCAN 1983, PEREIRA and ZANCAN 1993). ÖGEL et al. (1994) recently reported for the first time the sporulation of the Cladobotry- um (Dactylium) dendroides (NRRL 2903) and noted the resemblance between the conidia and conidiophores of this fungus with those described by BOOTH (1971) for Fusarium chlamydosporum. ÖGEL et al. (1994) also used genetic-based techniques together with determination of GO production to compare isolates of Hypomyces sp. and F. chlamy- dosporum. As a result, ÖGEL et al. (1994) re-classified the GOFP as a Fusarium species. However, differences in their analysis between this fungus and F. chlamydosporum impai- red the classification of NRRL 2903 as F. chlamydosporum. Recently, O’DONNELL et al. (2000) carried out phylogenetic, micotoxin, and pathogenicity analyses of several F. grami- © WILEY-VCH Verlag Berlin GmbH, 13086 Berlin, 2001 0233-111X/01/3-407-0143 $ 17.50+.50/0