Biotechnological applications of white rot fungi: A review

The growing concern over the pollution issues by the rapid industrialization has posed a serious problem forcing researchers around the world to seek alternative eco-friendly technologies. Textile, pulp and paper industries discharge a huge quantity of waste in the environment, and the disposal of this waste is an immense problem. To solve this problem, work has done to discover biotechnological applications such a biological process, which can detoxify wastes and is not damaging the environment. Examples of white-rot fungi that possess selective decay at least under certain condition are C. subvermispora, Dichomitus squalens, P. chrysosporium, and Phlebia radiata. Examples of white-rot fungi that possess non-selective decay are Trametes versicolor and Fomes fomentarius. These enzymatic complexes mainly consist of lignin peroxidases (LiPs), manganese peroxidases (MnPs) and laccases. They also have capability to detoxify a range of environmental pollutants. The present work explores the potential of WRF in more recent areas of their applications such as, textile industries, food industries, bio remediation, pulp and paper industries and animal feed digestibility.