Microbial Enzyme: Applications in Industry and in Bioremediation

This special issue is dedicated to the study of microbial enzymes and their applications in various industries. The biocatalytic uses for enzymes have grown immensely in recent years since they are ecologically correct, have a high specificity, present chemo-regio-enantio selectivity, and have a wide diversity of reactions. Moreover, the conditions to obtain and optimize the production of enzymes in terms of nutrients, pH, temperature, and aeration are easily controlled in bioreactors. Microorganisms can also be manipulated genetically to improve the desirable characteristics of a biocatalyzer. Additionally, the substrates used in the cultural medium are sustainable and industrial residuals can be used to produce value-added products. All these characteristics together have encouraged the ever-growing search for biocatalytic processes. The main industries that apply microbial enzymes are the food, textile, leather, pharmaceutical , cosmetics, fine chemicals, energy, biomaterials, paper, cellulose and detergent industries. Immobilization processes allow the reuse of these enzymes and increase stability. The enzymes and the microorganisms themselves have also been much used for bioremediation processes. In this issue, the paper by B. Joseph et al. is about the production of cold-active lipases by semisolid fermentation and the paper by A. L. Willerding et al. is a study about lipases obtained from microorganisms isolated from soils in the Amazon. Studies with lipases immobilized for the synthesis of isopropyl acetate and isopropyl ferulate are presented in the papers The results of cellulase production optimization studies with cellulosic substrates and delignified Bambusa bambos are presented in the papers by D. Deka et al. and A. Kuila et al. The paper by R. C. Kuhad et al. is a review of the innumerous industrial applications of the cellulases. The papers entitled " Bioconversion of agricultural waste to ethanol by SSF using recombinant cellulase from clostridium thermocellum, " " Petroleum-degrading enzymes: bioremedia-tion and new prospects, " and " Assessment of the morphological, biochemical, and kinetic properties for Candida rugosa lipase immobilized on hydrous niobium oxide to be used in the biodiesel synthesis " are about enzymes and biofuels: the use of a recombinant cellulase from Clostridium thermocellum for the production of ethanol from agro-industrial residues, a brief review on the role of enzymes that degrade oil, the use and description of the properties of a Candida rugosa lipase immobilized for the production of biodiesel. The paper entitled " Laccase: microbial sources, production, purification, and potential biotechnological applications " is a review of the industrial …