A ribonuclease from sclerotia of the edible mushroom Pleurotus tuber-regium.

A ribonuclease with a molecular weight of 29 kDa as determined by FPLC-gel filtration on Superose 12 was isolated from the sclerotia of the mushroom Pleurotus tuber-regium using a procedure involving extraction with aqueous buffer, ion exchange chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, affinity chromatography on Affi-gel blue gel, ion exchange chromatography on CM-cellulose, and FPLC on Mono S. The protein was unadsorbed on DEAE-cellulose but adsorbed on Affi-gel blue gel and CM-cellulose. It was homodimeric, made up of two identical subunits, each with a molecular weight of 14.5 kDa as witnessed in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. It exhibited potent ribonucleolytic activity toward Poly G. Its ribonucleolytic activity was resistant to heating at 100 degreesC for 30 min, but was inhibited by HgCl2, ZnSO4, NiSO4, CaCl2, and Pb(NO3)2.