Microbial Laccase: a robust enzyme and its industrial applications

Laccases (E.C. 1.10.3.2) are most stable and powerful biocatalysts with broad applications. It is a copper containing, organic solvents resistance, oxidoreductase enzyme, having potential ability to oxidize the phenolic and non-phenolic compounds to produce dimers, oligomers, and polymers. Laccase are widely distributed in nature ranging from prokaryotes to lower eukaryotes and fungi to plants. In their natural surroundings, Laccases are responsible for the biological degradation of lignin and received much attention among researchers in last decade, due to their wide-spread applicability and stability. The huge versatility of laccase due to their broad range of substrate specificity makes laccase highly suitable for various fields of industrial applications such as paper and pulp industry, textile applications, bioremediation, food processing, pharmaceutical and nanobiotechnological applications, bio-bleaching of synthetic dyes and biodegradation of xenobiotic compounds. Laccase mediated enzymatic treatment has been considered as, an effective process towards their adequate effect of real industrial decolourization of dye-contaminated wastewater, improving and texturing the food quality in affordable cost, less-time consuming at state-of-environmental risk. A present review is a brief analysis about this prominent group of enzymes and increase knowledge about its applications further which would encourage the use of laccase based production for economical purposes in future.