Description
The main objective of the collaborative project between CIB and Universidad Nacional de Colombia is the production, purification and characterization of the laccase(s) produced by a new ascomycete strain (LVN6) from the UNAL- Medellín PROBIOM group. We will performed a basic and applied comparison of the new laccase(s) with the basidiomycete laccases from our fungal collection at CIB. We have described the ability of certain phenolic compounds derived from lignocellulose to act as redox mediators of laccases, promoting the degradation of different aromatic pollutants and the delignification of lignocellulosic substrates. The possibility to obtain these mediators from natural resources wastes at low cost, makes the difference with the expensive synthesis of artificial mediators which, besides, most likely produce toxic derivates. Albeit basidiomycete laccases are of major biotechnological interest due to their higher redox potential, ascomycete laccases are easier to express in heterologous hosts and amend by genetic manipulation. Moreover, the use of natural mediators might notably increase the applicability of ascomycete laccases by contrast to most of artificial mediators (which cannot be oxidized by ascomycete laccases due to their high redox-potential). Special attention will be paid to evaluate the capability of the new laccase to degrade recalcitrant aromatic compounds and its potential application for a better use of plant biomass.