Sustainable Innovations and Production Strategies of White Rot Fungi-Derived Laccase

Laccase is a multi-copper oxidase enzyme, found in diverse class of organisms including fungi, bacteria, plants, and insects. Although it is present in Ascomycetes and Basidiomycetes, it is particularly abundant in lignin-degrading white-rot fungi (WRF). It catalyses the oxidation of a wide range of aromatic compounds, especially phenolic substrates, diamines, and aromatic amines. In recent decades, fungal laccases have gained extensive attention due to their remarkable catalytic activity and wide-ranging applications in the textile, pulp and paper, and food industries. Recently, their use for biosensors, biomedical, and in bioremediation of soil and water have been also reported. The aforementioned are attributed to the unique biochemical characteristics, including copper-binding domains and diverse amino acid sequences that influence substrate specificity and catalytic efficiency. In this regard, understanding their structural and functional diversity is crucial for desired applications. Here, White-rot fungi’s are highlighted owing to their substantial capacity for synthesizing laccase in significant quantities and extracellular release. These characteristic holds promise for facilitating the scale-up of production via optimization of different production factors. Additionally, in consideration of an inherent challenge in their utilization due to gradual lose in activity over time, enzyme immobilization is highlighted as a possible measure to increase their lifespan. The aforementioned underlines sustainable and eco-friendly innovations via integration of fungal laccase into various processes. This chapter offers an overview of the current state of knowledge about fungal laccase applications and their optimization of production by solid state and submerged fermentation method using different agro-waste.