Enzyme activities and biotechnological applications of cold-active microfungi

• Main Authors: Nevalainen, Helena, Bradner, Ron, Wadud, Sania, Mohammed, Suja, McRae, Christopher, Te'o, Junior
• Other Authors: Anitori, Roberto Paul
• Format: Book Part
• Language: English
• Published: Caister Academic Press 2012
• Subjects: FUEL-CONTAMINATED SOIL; ANTARCTIC BACTERIUM; ADAPTED ENZYMES; PSEUDOALTEROMONAS-HALOPLANKTIS; PSYCHROPHILIC ENZYMES; MICROBIAL LIPASES; BIOCHEMICAL-CHARACTERIZATION; GLUTAMATE-DEHYDROGENASES; THERMODYNAMIC STABILITY; PETROLEUM-HYDROCARBONS; /dk/atira/pure/mqoutputs/15; B1 - Book Chapter in an Edited Book - published by a commercial publisher; Antarctic; The Antarctic; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/0b19c107-58dc-4871-b8b3-82d1b6ac41bd; http://www.caister.com/extremophiles

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.