Utilization of Paddy Straw for the Production of Hydrolytic Enzymes

Oryza sativa commonly called as rice is a second major cereal crop after wheat and is thought to be originated from Asian regions that contribute about 90% of its total global production. Besides feeding populations around globe, it is also producing significant amount of lignocellulosic waste consisting of 28–45% cellulose, 12–32% hemicellulose, and 5–24% lignin along with some other biochemical constituents. Lack of management and awareness among crop producers leads to the open field burning of heaps of paddy straw that is of huge environmental concern, causing air, soil, and water pollution in nearby areas. However, the advent of new biological and technological techniques has led to the efficient in situ and ex situ management of paddy straw. The biotechnological approaches using lignocellulolytic microbes in both solid-state and submerged fermentation conditions to produce important hydrolytic enzymes using paddy straw as a biochemically rich lignocellulosic waste are gaining much attention.