Cold-active Enzymes: Potential use in Biotechnology

ADRIANA E. ALVARENGA; HÉCTOR A. CRISTÓBAL; CARLOS M. ABATE

Advances in Medicine and Biology, Volume 45

Nova Science Publishers, Inc

Lugar: New York; Año: 2012; p. 113 - 132

A wide variety of products and processes can be exploited biotechnologically from a diversity of organisms belonging to the Archaea, Bacteria and Eucarya domains isolated from cold environments. Recent advances in the study of psychrophilic organisms and their cold-active enzymes have revealed a new biotechnology era for the use of these biocatalysts in processes that require low temperatures. Thus, cold-active enzymes have applications in a wide range of processes in the fields of industry, agriculture and medicine. Thus the overall market for industrial enzymes was estimated at approximately U$S 2 billion in 2004, its increase rate was 4% per year. Within the properties of cold-active enzymes highlights its high catalytic activity at low temperatures and low heat stability at high temperatures. The cold-active enzymes provide economic benefits through energy savings. The biological plasticity of the glycosyl-hydrolases is a consequence of the â-glycosidic substrates variety that can hydrolyze. Within this group are cellulases, endoglucanases, exoglucanases, xylanases, â-glucosidases, á-rhamnosidases. The two last-mentioned play an important role in forming the aroma of fruit and wine by the monoterpene alcohols production such as linalool, alpha-terpenol, citronellol, nerol and geranol. In this chapter, we focus on the adaptive properties of psychrophilic microorganisms and the structure, function and stability of cold-active enzymes such as glycosyl-hydrolases and its current industrial worldwide applications.