Lipases are enzymes that catalyze various types of reactions and have versatile applications. Additionally, lipases are the most widely used class of enzymes in biotechnology and organic chemistry. Lipases can be produced by a wide range of organisms including animals, plants and microorganisms. Microbial lipases are more stable, they have substrate specificity and a lower production cost as compared to other sources of these enzymes. Although commercially available lipases are widely used as biocatalysts, there are still many challenges concerning the production of microbial lipases with the use of renewable sources as the main component of microbial growth medium such as straw, bran, oil cakes and industrial effluents. Submerged fermentation (SmF) and solid-state fermentation (SSF) are the two important technologies for the production of lipases by microorganisms. Therefore, this review focuses on microbial lipases, especially their function, specificity, types and technology production, including the use of renewable agro-industrial residues and waste materials.
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