Thermostable α-Amylases and Laccases: Paving the Way for Sustainable Industrial Applications

Abstract

The growing demand in industrial and biotechnological settings for more efficient enzymes with enhanced biochemical features, particularly thermostability and thermotolerance, necessitates a timely response. Renowned for their versatility, thermostable enzymes offer significant promise across a range of applications, including agricultural, medicinal, and biotechnological domains. This comprehensive review summarizes the structural attributes, catalytic mechanisms, and connection between structural configuration and functional activity of two major classes of thermostable enzymes: α-amylases and laccases. These enzymes serve as valuable models for understanding the structural foundation behind the thermostability of proteins. By highlighting the commercial importance of thermostable enzymes and the interest these generate among researchers in further optimization and innovation, this article can greatly contribute to ongoing research on thermostable enzymes and aiding industries in optimizing production processes via immobilization, use of stabilizing additives, chemical modification, protein engineering (directed evolution and mutagenesis), and genetic engineering (through cloning and expression of thermostable genes). It also gives insights to the exploration of suitable strategies and factors for enhancing thermostability like increasing substrate affinity; introducing electrostatic, intramolecular, and intermolecular hydrophobic interactions; mitigating steric hindrance; increasing flexibility of an active site; and N- and C-terminal engineering, thus resulting in heightened multipronged stability and notable enhancements in the enzymes’ industrial applicability.