Characterization of a thermostable Laccase and application toward pentachlorophenol degradation.

Pentachlorophenol (PCP) is an organochlorine pesticide whose toxicity led it to be banned in several countries. In Brazil however, this compound is widely accessible, and its indiscriminate use leads to extensive soil contamination, which requires henceforth, the development of new approaches to manage PCP presence in environment. Considering that PCP is susceptible to undergo enzymatic degradation, this investigation is thence, aimed at the purification, and characterization, of a thermostable fungal enzyme (i.

Screening of Brazilian basidiomycetes for antimicrobial activity.

A total of 103 isolates of basidiomycetes, representing 84 species from different Brazilian ecosystems, were evaluated for their antifungal and antibacterial activity in a panel of pathogenic and non-pathogenic microorganisms. Tissue plugs of the fruiting bodies were cultivated in liquid media and the whole culture extracted with ethyl acetate. Crude extracts from Agaricus cf.