%0 Journal Article %A Leatham, Gary F. %A Stahmann, Mark A. %T Studies on the Laccase of Lentinus edodes: Specificity, Localization and Association with the Development of Fruiting Bodies %D 1981 %J Microbiology, %V 125 %N 1 %P 147-157 %@ 1465-2080 %R https://doi.org/10.1099/00221287-125-1-147 %I Microbiology Society, %X The phenol oxidases from mature fruiting bodies of Lentinus edodes (Berk.) Sing., a commercially cultivated mushroom, were studied. The major phenol oxidase was a laccase with a pH optimum near 4.0 and an apparent molecular weight of 100000. Catechol oxidase and tyrosinase were also present. The laccase investigated was primarily extracellular; the highest activity was in the pigmented rind of the pileus and in the stipe. Increased laccase activity was associated with rapid growth of non-pigmented aerial mycelium and formation of pigmented primordia and fruiting bodies. Possible functions of the laccase and its regulation during the development of fruiting bodies are discussed. %U https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-125-1-147