Higher fungi are a rich source of l -amino acid oxidases

l -Amino acid oxidases (LAO) are widely distributed enzymes but those from snake venoms have been studied the most. We describe a method for in-gel detection of LAO activities based on H 2 O 2 detection by a horseradish peroxidase-coupled reaction using o -phenylenediamine. Complex substrates and single l -amino acids were used successfully for screening LAO activities in higher fungi using crude aqueous extracts of fruiting bodies of 22 basidiomycetes and 1 ascomycete. Half of these samples exhibited one to two bands of LAO activities with mostly broad substrate specificities and a variety of apparent molecular masses ranging from 25 to 200 kDa that were generally more active at pH 5.5 than at pH 8.0. Mushrooms are shown to be a rich source of LAOs that could find use in various medical and biotechnological applications.