Buller . — The Enzymes of Poly poms squamosus, Huds. 59 
collected in January and March. As fruit-bodies which have hung on trees 
through the winter are always dead and usually worm-eaten and attacked 
by saprophytic Fungi, a confirmation of his results with fresh and perfectly 
sound material, as given in this paper, seemed to me highly desirable. 
My work has shown that the following enzymes occur in the fruit- 
bodies of Polyporus squamosus : laccase, tyrosinase, amylase, emulsin, 
a protease, lipase, rennetase, and c coagulase ’ ; whereas negative results 
were obtained in the tests for pectase, maltase, invertase, trehalase, and 
cytase. A study of the destruction of the wood of the Sycamore ( Acer 
pseudoplatanus 2 ) points to the conclusion that the mycelium produces 
cytase and possibly also hadromase. Altogether, then, we may take 
it that the Fungus produces eight or nine different enzymes. Whether 
a greater number of these bodies has been proved to be present in any 
other single organism is doubtful. However, seven have been shown 
to exist in Aspergillus by Bourquelot 2 , namely, invertase, maltase, trehalase, 
inulase, emulsin, diastase, and trypsin. 
The more we know of physiology the more important do enzymes 
appear to be in the metabolism of living organisms. Doubtless beyond 
the eight or nine enzymes found in Polyporus squamosus there are others 
present with which we are not yet acquainted. The absence of invertase, 
maltase, and trehalase suggests that some other corresponding enzyme 
is still to be detected. In any case a sufficient number of enzymes have 
been recorded to give us some insight into the great complexity of the 
chemical processes going on in the fruit-bodies. 
In conclusion I wish to express my best thanks to Professor Adrian 
Brown for permitting me to carry out this investigation in the Brewing 
Department of the University of Birmingham, and for valuable advice 
in connexion with the tests for the enzymes. 
1 Buller, loc. cit. 
2 Bull. Soc. Mycol., 1893, p. 231. 
