A versatile peroxidase (VP-Peco60-7) was generated and purified from the liquid culture of Pleurotus eryngii. The purification procedure included ammonium sulfate precipitation, ion exchange chromatography, and gel chromatography. The molecular weight and isoelectric point (pI) of VP-Peco60-7 were determined to be approximately 40 kDa and 4.1, respectively. By N-terminal sequence determination and peptide mapping analysis, VP-Peco60-7 was found to be similar to the versatile peroxidase isoenzyme VPL1, which was previously isolated from liquid cultures of the same species. However, the molecular weight and pI of VP-Peco60-7 were different from those of versatile peroxidases of liquid cultures, implying that the VP-Peco60-7 in this study is of a novel type. With 2,2'-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) as a substrate, the maximal enzyme activity was obtained at 50 degrees C and pH 3.0. The catalysis of ABTS by VP-Peco60-7 was expressed by the Michaelis-Menten equation. At 50 degrees C and pH 3.0, the maximum velocity (V-max) was 188.68 U.mg(-1) and the michaelis constant (K-m) was 203.09 mu mol.L-1.