Location and contribution of individual β-glucosidase from Neurospora crassa to total β-glucosidase activity

This study investigated the cellular location and the contribution of individual beta-glucosidase (BGL) to total BGL activity in Neurospora crassa. Among the seven bgl genes, bgl3, bgl5, and bgl7 were transcribed at basal levels, whereas bgl1, bgl2, bgl4, and bgl6 were significantly up-regulated when the wild-type strain was induced with cellulose (Avicel). BGL1 and BGL4 were found to be contributors to intracellular BGL activity, whereas the activities of BGL2 and BGL6 were mainly extracellular. Sextuple bgl deletion strains expressing one of the three basally transcribed bgls did not produce any detectable BGL activity when they were grown on Avicel. BGL6 is the major contributor to overall BGL activity, and most of its activity resides cell-bound. The sextuple bgl deletion strain containing only bgl6 utilized cellobiose at a rate similar to that of the wild type, while the strain with only bgl6 deleted utilized cellobiose much slower than that of the wild type.