Abstract
$\beta-Galactosidase$ is an enzyme which catalizes hydrolysis of lactose, a natural substrate, to glucose and galctose and transferring some monosac-charide units to active acceptors as sugar or alcohol. The occurence of $\beta-Galactosidase$ is known in various microorganisms, animals and higher plants and has been studied by many investigatigators. Especially, a great deal of articles for the enzyme of E. coli have been presented in genetic control mechanism and induction-repression effects of proteins, On the other hand, in the dairly products industry, it is important to hydrolyes lactosd which is the principal sugar of milk and milk products. During the last few years, the interest in enzymatic hydrolysis of milk lactose has teen increased, because of the lactose intolerence in large groups of the population. Microbial $\beta-Galactosidases$ are considered potentially most suitable for processing milk to hydrolyse lactose and, in recent years, the immobilized enzyme from yeast has been examined. Howev, most of the microbial $\beta-Gal$ actosidase are intracellular enzymes, except a few fungal $\beta-Gala-$ ctosidases, and extracellular $\beta-Galactosidase$ which may be favorable to industrial applieation is not so well investigated. On this studies, a mold producing a potent extracellular $\beta-Galactosidase$ was isolated from soil and identified as an imperfect fungus, Beauveria bassians. In this strain, both extracellular and intracellular $\beta-Galactosidases$ were produced simultaneously and a great increase of the extracellular production was acheved by improving the cultural conditions. The extracellular enzyme was purified more than 1, 000 times by procedures including Phosphocellulose and Sephadex G-200 chromatographies. Several characteristics of the enzymewas clarified with this preparation. The enzyme has a main subunit of molecular weight of 80, 000 which makes an active aggregate. And at neutral pH range, it has optimum pH for activity and stability. The Km value was determined to be 0.45$\times$10$^{-3}$ M for $o-Nitrophenyl-\beta-Galactoside.$ In any event, it is interesting to sttudy the $\beta-Galactosidase$ of B. bassiana for the mechanism of secretion and conformational structure of enzyme.