White-rot fungi, new biotechnological tools for a cleaner environment

Abstract

White-rot fungi are key regulators of the global C-cycle; they are so far unique in their ability to complete degrade all components of our principal renewable resource, lignocellulose. These filamentous wood decay fungi, common inhabitants of forest litter and fallen trees, can attack all the wood components, the lignin as well as the polysaccharides. They produce an impressive array of enzymes (cellulases, hemicellulases, pectinases and ligninases) with potential in a wide range of biotechnological applications, including hazardous waste remediation and in the industrial processing of paper and textiles. Interest in these fungi has increased during the past two decades spurred by the ability of these organisms to degrade a wide variety of hazardous compounds (including polychlorinated biphenyls, pesticides, explosives, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and industrial dyes). To be able to use the white rotters in these processes it is necessary to learn how their enzymes are secreted, how they operate and under what conditions they are active. Our current research is focused on these subjects, and in the screening of new isolates for their ability to degrade xenobiotics, in the search of more efficient strains.