-1-3-Glucan synthase activity and its induction by olive mill wastewaters (OMW) was studied in ten fungal strains (
Auricularia auricula-judae,
Lentinula edodes,
Pleurotus eryngii,
Stropharia aeruginosa,
Agrocybe aegerita,
P. pulmonarius,
Armillaria mellea,
P. ferulae,
P. ostreatus,
P. nebrodensis). A microtiter-based enzymatic assay on
-1-3-glucan synthase activity was carried out on all mycelia growth both on the control medium and on OMW. Among the fungi assayed,
L. edodes -1-3-glucan synthase was highly enhanced in OMW. The main components of OMW, i.e. phenols and lipids, were added separately to the control medium, to highlight the mechanism of
L. edodes -1-3-glucan synthase induction. A Southern blot analysis and PCR with degenerated primers were carried out to detect the presence of
fks1-like genes in these Basidiomycetes. The sequences obtained from the ten Basidiomycota were remarkably similar to
fks1 from
Filobasidiella neoformans. Spectrofluorimetric and RT-PCR analyses of
-1-3-glucan synthase were performed on the mycelia of
L. edodes. In this fungus, a strong stimulation of
-1-3-glucan synthase mRNA and protein was recorded in the presence of OMW and phenols.