Industrial production of laccase - Essay Example

This enzyme is mostly seen in higher plants and fungi. In plants, laccases can be seen in trees, turnips, cabbage, asparagus, beets, apples, pears, potatoes and other vegetables. It is also detected in other plant species like mango, mung bean, prune, syncamore, peach, pine and lacquer. It is also evident among insects likeCalliphora,Diploptera,Drosophelia, Sarchophaga,Rhodnius and Papilio.However, wood rotting fungi are the most common producers of Laccase. Even though laccase is present in plants, insects and fungi it’s activity is limited in bacteria like Marinomonas meditteranea, Azospirillium lipoferum.

Laccase is an enzyme with less saccharide compounds in bacteria and fungi compared to plants. The studied that conducted are on extracellular proteins although intracellular proteins are found in several insects and fungi. The purified form of laccase exhibits a blue appearance. The production of laccase from fungi is practiced for industrial use. As per Mayer( 2002, pg 551-65)“Laccases are involved in fungal virulence and possibly in lignification in higher plants” History and Development The laccase enzyme was discovered in Japanese tree Rhus Vernicifera more than one century ago.

For many years it was believed that only the ligninolytic system of some white rot fungi could aid in production of lacasse. However, it was Bourbonnais andPaice who found that laccase can catalyze the oxidation of non – phenolic benzylalchohols with the aid of redox mediator. This led to the discovery that laccase mediator system can degrade effectively residual lignin. Because of its extensive reaction capabilities and broad usage in biotechnology it was further studied. In most fungi, lacasse is produced at low level which is not enough for commercial purpose.

Lacasse are promising enzymes which has a conventional usage in industries like textile, pulp and paper, pharmaceuticals and nanobiotechnology. Lacasse is generally produced by fungi grown on basal media at low concentration. As per Gedikli(2010,pg.9 -16) “Lacasse activity depends on the type of fungal strain used, growth conditions employed, the presence and the absence of inducers, incubation time, nature and composition of culture medium and genetic manipulation”.In order to obtain higher concentration various supplements need to be added like metal ions.

White rot fungi is known to have diverse response to inducers in lacasse activity. If inducers are added it can enhance the concentration of lacasse.The lacasse production is highly depended on the cultivation conditions of the fungi strains. The lacasse is primarily produced in industries by submerged cultivation method. However, the excessive growth of mycelium is one of the disadvantages of this method as it hampers the production yield due to mass transfer and metabolic limitation. But this situation can be controlled by the immobilization of cells.

Solid state fermentation is also a method to produce laccase. The laccase enzyme is extracellular and secreted in to a medium through filamentous fungi. The secondary metabolism of different fungi generally produces lacasse. The lacasse production is influenced by different factors like type of cultivation, concentration of