Abstract
A fungus with the ability to utilize a metal-cyano compound, tetracyanonickelate (II) {K2[Ni (CN)4]; TCN}, as its sole source of nitrogen was isolated from soil and identified as Fusarium oxysporum N-10. Both intact mycelia and cell-free extract of the strain catalyzed hydrolysis of TCN to formate and ammonia and produced formamide as an intermediate, thereby indicating that a hydratase and an amidase sequentially participated in the degradation of TCN. The enzyme catalyzing the hydration of TCN was purified approximately ten-fold from the cell-free extract of strain N-10 with a yield of 29%. The molecular mass of the active enzyme was estimated to be 160 kDa. The enzyme appears to exist as a homotetramer, each subunit having a molecular mass of 40 kDa. The enzyme also catalyzed the hydration of KCN, with a cyanide-hydrating activity 2 × 104 times greater than for TCN. The kinetic parameters for TCN and KCN indicated that hydratase isolated from F. oxysporum was a cyanide hydratase able to utilize a broad range of cyano compounds and nitriles as substrates.
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Received: 9 August 1999 / Received revision: 13 September 1999 / Accepted: 24 September 1999
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yanase, H., Sakamoto, A., Okamoto, K. et al. Degradation of the metal-cyano complex tetracyanonickelate (II) by Fusarium oxysporum N-10. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 53, 328–334 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/s002530050029
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s002530050029