An encapsulated report on enzyme-assisted transesterification with an allusion to lipase

Biodiesel is a renewable, sulfur-free, toxic-free, and low carbon fuel which possesses enhanced lubricity. Transesterification is the easiest method employed for the production of biodiesel, in which the oil is transformed into biodiesel. Biocatalyst-mediated transesterification is more advantageous than chemical process because of its non-toxic nature, the requirement of mild reaction conditions, absence of saponification, easy product recovery, and production of high-quality biodiesel. Lipases are found to be the primary enzymes in enzyme-mediated transesterification process. Currently, researchers are using lipases as biocatalyst for transesterification. Lipases are extracted from various sources such as plants, microbes, and animals. Biocatalyst-based biodiesel production is not yet commercialized due to high-cost of purified enzymes and higher reaction time for the production process. However, research works are growing in the area of various cost-effective techniques for immobilizing lipase to improve its reusability. And further reduction in the production cost of lipases can be achieved by genetic engineering techniques. The reduction in reaction time can be achieved through ultrasonic-assisted biocatalytic transesterification. Biodiesel production by enzymatic transesterification is affected by many factors. Various methods have been developed to control these factors and improve biodiesel production. This report summarizes the various sources of lipase, various production strategies for lipase and the lipase-mediated transesterification. It is fully focused on the lipase enzyme and its role in biodiesel production. It also covers the detailed explanation of various influencing factors, which affect the lipase-mediated transesterification along with the limitations and scope of lipase in biodiesel production.

Microbial lipases and their industrial applications: a comprehensive review

Lipases are very versatile enzymes, and produced the attention of the several industrial processes. Lipase can be achieved from several sources, animal, vegetable, and microbiological. The uses of microbial lipase market is estimated to be USD 425.0 Million in 2018 and it is projected to reach USD 590.2 Million by 2023, growing at a CAGR of 6.8% from 2018. Microbial lipases (EC 3.1.1.3) catalyze the hydrolysis of long chain triglycerides. The microbial origins of lipase enzymes are logically dynamic and proficient also have an extensive range of industrial uses with the manufacturing of altered molecules. The unique lipase (triacylglycerol acyl hydrolase) enzymes catalyzed the hydrolysis, esterification and alcoholysis reactions. Immobilization has made the use of microbial lipases accomplish its best performance and hence suitable for several reactions and need to enhance aroma to the immobilization processes. Immobilized enzymes depend on the immobilization technique and the carrier type. The choice of the carrier concerns usually the biocompatibility, chemical and thermal stability, and insolubility under reaction conditions, capability of easy rejuvenation and reusability, as well as cost proficiency. Bacillus spp., Achromobacter spp., Alcaligenes spp., Arthrobacter spp., Pseudomonos spp., of bacteria and Penicillium spp., Fusarium spp., Aspergillus spp., of fungi are screened large scale for lipase production. Lipases as multipurpose biological catalyst has given a favorable vision in meeting the needs for several industries such as biodiesel, foods and drinks, leather, textile, detergents, pharmaceuticals and medicals. This review represents a discussion on microbial sources of lipases, immobilization methods increased productivity at market profitability and reduce logistical liability on the environment and user.

Identification of new members of alkaliphilic lipases in archaea and metagenome database using reconstruction of ancestral sequences

The application of bioinformatics in lipase research has the potential to discover robust members from different genomic/metagenomic databses. In this study, we explored the diversity and distribution of alkaliphilic lipases in archaea domain and metagenome data sets through phylogenetic survey. Reconstructed ancestral sequence of alkaphilic lipase was used to search the homologous alkaliphilic lipases among the archaea and metagenome public databases. Our investigation revealed a total 21 unique sequences of new alkaliphilic lipases in the archaeal and environmental metagenomic protein databases that shared significant sequence similarity to the bacterial alkaliphilic lipases. Most of the identified new members of alkaliphilic lipases belong to class Haloarchaea. The searched list of homologs also comprised of one characterized lipase from alkalohyperthermophilic Archaeoglobus fulgidus. All the newly identified alkaliphilic lipase members showed conserved pentapeptide [X-His-Ser-X-Gly] motif, a key feature of lipase family. Furthermore, detailed analysis of all these new sequences showed homology either with thermostable or alkalophilic lipases. The reconstructed ancestral sequence-based searches increased the sensitivity and efficacies to detect remotely homologous sequences. We hypothesize that this study can enrich our current knowledge on lipases in designing more potential thermo-alkaliphilic lipases for industrial applications.