Ligninolytic enzymes

Abstract

Ligninolytic enzymes are involved in the degradation of the complex and recalcitrant polymer lignin. This group of enzymes is highly versatile in nature and they find application in a wide variety of industries. The biotechnological significance of these enzymes has led to a drastic increase in the demand for these enzymes in the recent time. Production of enzymes/metabolites from microbial sources is a costly affair and the only alternate to minimize the production cost is the use of inexpensive raw materials. The utilization of agro-industrial residues in this aspect is much appreciated due to their low cost and ease in availability. Adopting solid-state fermentation for enzyme production may add to the benefit of reducing the production costs. The studies have proved that huge quantities of lignocellulosic residues are available world wide for the production of ligninolytic enzymes. The current trend is to make use of every such locally available agro-industrial residue for enzymes production to meet the demand for the same from the industrial sectors. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009.