Fungal Phytases: Biotechnological Applications in Food and Feed Industries

Abstract

Phytases are found naturally in many organisms especially in different classes of plants and microbes. Interest in these enzymes has been motivated by the fact that phytase supplements increase the bioavailability of phosphorus in food and feed which also reduce phosphorus pollution resulting from its excretion by livestock. Although phytases are reported to be produced by different biofactories, fungal microorganisms are widely used for their production on the commercial scale. Phytases can be produced by fungi in different cultivation systems including both solid-state and submerged fermentation systems. Different factors influence the yield of produced phytases including carbon and nitrogen sources, pH, temperature, incubation time, inoculum age, and size. Variety of natural and recombinant expression systems employing different types of fungi are used to enhance the overall productivity. This chapter focuses on the production of fungal phytases, their downstream processing and formulation, as well as their applications in food and feed industries.