Purification and characteristics of an enzyme with both bilirubin oxidase and laccase activities from mycelium of the basidiomycete Pleurotus ostreatus.

A homogenous enzyme with both bilirubin oxidase and laccase activities was isolated from a submerged culture of the basidiomycete Pleurotus ostreatus mycelium and characterized. The yield of the enzyme was 127 microg/g dry biomass of the mycelium. The specific activity of the enzyme was 21 and 261 U/mg to bilirubin and to a laccase substrate ABTS, respectively.