Purification and properties of bilirubin oxidase fromMyrothecium verrucaria

Bilirubin oxidase was purified from a culture filtrate of Myrothecium verrucaria Mv 2, 1089 by DEAE-cellulose and Sephadex G-100 column chromatographies. The purified enzyme had a specific activity of 30 U/mg protein and showed a single band on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Some of the general properties of this bilirubin oxidase were as follows: the optimum pH for the enzyme reaction was 7.5 and the optimum temperature was 50 degrees C. The enzyme was stable at pH ranging from 9.0 to 9.5. The mol wt was calculated to be 61,900-62,700 by SDS-PAGE and gel-filtration technique. The apparent Km value of the bilirubin oxidase was calculated to be 9.4 x 10(-5) mol/L. The enzyme activity was greatly reduced by incubation of bilirubin oxidase with Fe2+, Hg+, NaN3, NH+4, and Zn2+. The enzyme reaction was inhibited in the presence of Ca2+, Hg+, Zn2+, Fe2+, and BSA.