Location by fluorescence microscopy of glycosidases and a xylanase in the anaerobic gut fungi Caecomyces communis, Neocallimastix frontalis, and Piromyces rhizinflata.

beta-D-Glucosidase, beta-D-fucosidase, beta-D-xylosidase, and beta-D-cellobiopyranosidase activities in Caecomyces communis, Neocallimastix frontalis, and Piromyces rhizinflata, located with fluorescent conjugates, occur throughout the whole thallus as from zoospore germination and disappear before sporulation. beta-D-Galactosidase and alpha-L-arabinopyranosidase activities are low or nonexistent. A xylanase, detected by indirect immunofluorescence, was observed at the surface of the vegetative cells, vesicles, or rhizoids. Cross-reactions prove the existence of analogies in structure among the enzymes of these anaerobic gut fungi.