An Overview on Fungal Cellulases with an Industrial Perspective

Abstract

Lignocellulose is the most abundant biopolymer available on earth. Hydrolysis of lignocellulose into fermentable sugars, sugar acids and phenolics is the pre-requisite for its successful exploitation as substrates for the large scale production of industrially significant value added products. Though remarkable collection of lignocellulolytic microorganisms has been brought to limelight, only a few especially fungi have been studied extensively as they secrete copious lignocellulolytic enzymes extracellularly. Enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocelluloses is carried out by a group of enzymes viz., cellulases, hemicellulases, ligninases in unison or individually, and are collectively known as lignocellulolytic enzymes. In this light of this background, followed by a short introduction on lignocellulose, lignocellulolytic enzymes and mainly focused on fungal cellulase, this review discusses recent approaches on the production of cellulase by submerged and solid-state fermentation strategies; current knowledge on the purification, characterisation of cellulase; and finally concluded with detailed industrial applications of fungal cellulase.

Isolation of Bacteria with Potential of Producing Extracellular Enzymes (Amylase, Cellulase and Protease) from Soil Samples

“…Cellulases aid in conversion of cellulolytic materials to simple sugar during ethanol production from lignocellulose [8,9]. They play vitals roles in wine industry like improvement in filtration rate and wine stability [7].…”

Enzymatic breakdown of lignocellulosic biomass: the role of glycosyl hydrolases and lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases

“…However, due to the competitiveness of these grains for food to man, cost implications as well as relative abundant availability, there has been a shift to the use of lignocellulosic biomass as feedstock for the production of bioethanol. Lignocelulose can be majorly sourced from agricultural residues such as wheat, rice, corn straw, sugarcane bargasse, to biofuels (second generation) [147,148]. There are two main processes involved in the conversion; hydrolysis of cellulose in the lignocellulosic biomass to yield reducing sugars, and fermentation of the sugars to ethanol [62].…”

Applications of Microbial Enzymes in Food Industry

“…β-Glucosidases in combination with pectinase alter the structure, flavour and aroma of fruits and vegetables (94). They are also reported to reduce bitterness of citrus fruit and improve aroma and taste (95). Cellulases are used with other enzymes for efficient olive oil extraction (96).…”