Enzyme activities and biotechnological applications of cold-active microfungi
Fungi are eukaryotic organisms and considered to be less adaptable to extreme environments when compared with bacteria. While there are no thermophilic microfungi in a strict sense, some fungi have adapted to life in the cold. Cold-active microfungi have been isolated from the Antarctic and their en...
Main Authors: | , , , , , |
---|---|
Other Authors: | |
Format: | Book Part |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Caister Academic Press
2012
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/0b19c107-58dc-4871-b8b3-82d1b6ac41bd http://www.caister.com/extremophiles |
Summary: | Fungi are eukaryotic organisms and considered to be less adaptable to extreme environments when compared with bacteria. While there are no thermophilic microfungi in a strict sense, some fungi have adapted to life in the cold. Cold-active microfungi have been isolated from the Antarctic and their enzyme activities explored with a view to finding new candidates for industrial use. On another front, environmental pollution by petroleum products in the Antarctic has led to a search for, and the subsequent discovery of, fungal isolates capable of degrading hydrocarbons. The work has paved the way to developing a bioremedial approach to containing this type of contamination in cold climates. Here we discuss our efforts to map the capability of Antarctic microfungi to degrade oil and also introduce a novel cold-active fungal lipase enzyme. |
---|