Irpex lacteus, a white-rot fungus with biotechnological potential — review

Abstract

White-rot fungi that are efficient lignin degraders responsible for its turnover in nature have appeared twice in the center of biotechnological research - first, when the lignin degradation process started being systematically investigated and major enzyme activities and mechanisms involved were described, and second, when the huge remediation potential of these organisms was established. Originally, Phanerochaete chrysosporium became a model organism, characterized by a secondary metabolism regulatory pattern triggered by nutrient (mostly nitrogen) limitation. Last decade brought evidence of more varied regulatory patterns in white-rot fungi when ligninolytic enzymes were also abundantly synthesized under conditions of nitrogen sufficiency. Gradually, research was focused on other species, among them Irpex lacteus showing a remarkable pollutant toxicity resistance and biodegradation efficiency. Systematic research has built up knowledge of biochemistry and biotechnological applicability of this fungus, stressing the need to critically summarize and estimate these scattered data. The review attempts to evaluate the information on I. lacteus focusing on various enzyme activities and bioremediation of organopollutants in water and soil environments, with the aim of mediating this knowledge to a broader microbiological audience.

Characterization of a Novel Dye-Decolorizing Peroxidase (DyP)-Type Enzyme from Irpex lacteus and Its Application in Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Wheat Straw

“…The B. adusta DyP isoenzymes lost their activity completely at 55°C, even without previous incubation (23,31). Keeping in mind the fungal origin of I. lacteus DyP, the habitat of I. lacteus in the northern temperature zone (6), and its natural environment, wood and litter decay, the obtained data (high activity and stability at acid pHs, especially at low temperatures) fit with a potential physiological role in nature during lignocellulose degradation.…”

“…This white-rot fungus has been applied in biodegradation of toxic compounds (1), dye decolorization (2), water and soil bioremediation (3), and biopretreatment of lignocellulosic substrates to improve sugar recoveries for bioethanol production (4,5). Its efficiency in these processes has been mainly attributed to the release of a battery of ligninolytic enzymes, namely, Mn 2ϩ -oxidizing peroxidases (MnPs), lignin peroxidases (LiPs), and laccases (6). However, some reports have also described the production of another type of peroxidases, designated nonspecific (7) or Mn 2ϩ -independent (8, 9) peroxidases, which could have an important role in these processes but have not been isolated and/or characterized to date.…”

Biological Treatment of Reactive Black 5 by Resupinate White Rot Fungus Phanerochaete sordida PBU 0057

“…Isolates of white rot fungi can degrade azo dyes, including Bjerkandera adusta [2], Dichomitus squalens [20], Irpex lacteus [22], P. chrysosporium [1], and Pleurotus spp. [26,36].…”

“…Phanerochaete chrysosporium is the most extensively studied white rot fungus due to its effi ciency in attacking a range of condensed aromatic pollutants and lignin [16][17][18][19]. Broader studies of this resupinate group address their biodegradative capabilities [10], and specifi c focus has centered on Dichomitus squalens, Irpex lacteus, and Bjerkandera adusta [2,[20][21][22]. Resupinate white rots occur widely in tropical countries, including Thailand [23][24][25], and although their wood degradation was considered [26], their potential role in bioremediation has yet to be fully addressed.…”

Fungal Decolourization and Degradation of Synthetic Dyes Some Chemical Engineering Aspects

“…In the next decade, a few new species of white-rot fungi like Pleurotus ostreatus and Trametes versicolour (Heinfling et al, 1997;Sukumar et al, 2009;Pazarlioglu et al, 2010) were characterized for the dye degradation. A more intense research with Irpex lacteus (Novotny et al, 2009) and Bjerkandera adusta Eichlerova et al, 2007) started in the last decade, while the interest in the decolourization capability of Ceriporiopsis subvermispora (Babič & Pavko, 2007;Tanaka et al, 2009) and Dichomites squalens (Eichlerova et al, 2006;Pavko & Novotny, 2008) has increased in the last few years. Eichlerova et al, 2007Babič & Pavko, 2007Tanaka et al, 2009Eichlerova et al, 2006Pavko & Novotny, 2008Novotny, 2009Podgornik et al, 2001Faraco et al, 2009Heinfling et al,1997Sukumar et al, 2009;Pazarlioglu et al, 2010Heinfling et al,1997Sukumar et al, 2009;Pazarlioglu et al, 2010 Table 3.…”