Expression and characterization of a novel 1,3-regioselective cold-adapted lipase from Rhizomucor endophyticus suitable for biodiesel synthesis

An sn-2 regioselective lipase with cis-fatty acid preference from Cordyceps militaris: Biochemical characterization and insights into its regioselective mechanism

Lipase with unique regioselectivity is an attractive biocatalyst for elaborate lipid modification. However, the excavation of novel sn-2 regioselective lipases is difficult due to their scarcity in nature, with Candida antarctica lipase A (CALA) being the pronouncedly reported one. Here, we identified a novel CALA-like lipase from Cordyceps militaris (CACML7) via in silico mining. Through chiral-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, we determined that CACML7 displays sn-2 regioselectivity (>68 %) as does CALA, but exhibits distinctive chain length selectivity and bias against unsaturated fats. Notably, the curvature of the acyl-binding tunnel was expected to contribute to the 2.2-fold higher preference for cis-fatty acid (C18:1, cis-Δ9) over trans-fatty acid (C18:1, trans-Δ9) unlike trans-active CALA. Random pose docking of trioleoylglycerol (TOG) into the active site of a lid-truncated mutant of CACML7 revealed that TOG accepts a tuning fork conformation, of which the precise positioning of the reactive ester group towards the catalytic center was only favorable via sn-2 binding mode. The unique active site morphology, which we refer to as an "acyl-binding tunnel with a narrow entrance," may contribute to the sn-2 regioselectivity of CACML7. Our data provide an attractive model to better understand the mechanism underlying sn-2 regioselectivity.

Enzymatic Interesterification of Coconut and Hemp Oil Mixtures to Obtain Modified Structured Lipids

The interesterification process allows structured lipids (SLs) to be obtained with a modified triacylglycerol (TAG) structure, in which the unfavorable saturated fatty acids (SFAs) are replaced with nutritionally significant fatty acids (FAs) such as monounsaturated (MUFAs) and polyunsaturated (PUFAs). Oxidative stability is crucial for the quality of SLs. This study aimed to characterize and evaluate the FA profile and oxidative stability of SLs synthesized by the enzymatic interesterification of hemp seed oil (HO) and coconut oil (CO) blends. Blends were prepared in three ratios (75% HO:25% CO, 50% HO:50% CO, and 25% HO:75% CO) and interesterified using sn-1,3 regiospecific lipase for 2 or 6 h. FA composition, the FA distribution of TAGs, acid value (AV), peroxide value (PV), and oxidation time were analyzed and compared to non-interesterified blends. Results showed no significant difference in the SFA:MUFA ratios between interesterified and non-interesterified blends with the same proportions. Lauric acid predominantly occupied the sn-2 position in all blends. Interesterified blends had higher AVs, exceeding codex standards, while PVs remained within the acceptable limits. Blends with 75% HO had lower oxidation times compared to those with 75% CO, with no significant difference between interesterified and non-interesterified blends. In the interesterification process of the studied blends, new TAGs with a modified structure were created, which may affect their physical and nutritional properties. This process also had a significant effect on the AV and PV levels, but not on the oxidation time of the modified blends. Therefore, it is necessary to remove free FAs after the enzymatic process to produce SLs characterized by improved hydrolytic stability. This will lead to better technological properties compared to the original oils. Further research is also necessary to enhance the oxidation stability of SLs obtained from blends of CO and HO to improve their storage stability.

Characterization of a New Thermostable and Organic Solution-Tolerant Lipase from Pseudomonas fluorescens and Its Application in the Enrichment of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids

The search for and characterization of new lipases with excellent properties has always been urgent and is of great importance to meet industrial needs. In this study, a new lipase, lipB, from Pseudomonas fluorescens SBW25, belonging to the lipase subfamily I.3, was cloned and expressed in Bacillus subtilis WB800N. Enzymatic properties studies of recombinant LipB found that it exhibited the highest activity towards p-nitrophenyl caprylate at 40 °C and pH 8.0, retaining 73% of its original activity after incubation at 70 °C for 6 h. In addition, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, and Ba²⁺ strongly enhanced the activity of LipB, while Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Mn²⁺, and CTAB showed an inhibiting effect. The LipB also displayed noticeable tolerance to organic solvents, especially acetonitrile, isopropanol, acetone, and DMSO. Moreover, LipB was applied to the enrichment of polyunsaturated fatty acids from fish oil. After hydrolyzing for 24 h, it could increase the contents of polyunsaturated fatty acids from 43.16% to 72.18%, consisting of 5.75% eicosapentaenoic acid, 19.57% docosapentaenoic acid, and 46.86% docosahexaenoic acid, respectively. The properties of LipB render it great potential in industrial applications, especially in health food production.

Heterologous expression and biochemical characterization of a cold-active lipase from Rhizopus microsporus suitable for oleate synthesis and bread making

OBJECTIVES

Cold-active lipases which show high specific activity at low temperatures are attractive in industrial applications in terms of product stability and energy saving. We aimed to identify novel cold-active lipase suitable for oleates synthesis and bread making.

RESULTS

A novel lipase gene (RmLipA) from Rhizopus microsporus was cloned and heterologously expressed in Pichia pastoris. The encoding sequence displayed 75% identity to the lipase from R. niveus. The highest extracellular lipase activity of 7931 U/mL was achieved in a 5-L fermentation. The recombinant enzyme (RmLipA) was optimally active at pH 8.0 and 20-25 °C, respectively, and stable over a wide pH range of 2.0-11.0. The enzyme was a cold-active lipase, exhibiting > 80% of its maximal activity at 0 °C. RmLipA was a sn-1,3 regioselective lipase, and preferred to hydrolyze pNP esters and triglycerides with relatively long chain fatty acids. RmLipA synthesized various oleates using oleic acid and different alcohols as substrates (> 95%). Moreover, it significantly improved the quality of bread by increasing its specific volume (21.7%) and decreasing its crumb firmness (28.6%).

CONCLUSIONS

A novel cold-active lipase gene from R. microsporus was identified, and its application potentials were evaluated. RmLipA should be a potential candidate in oleates synthesis and bread making industries.

Cold Active Lipases: Biocatalytic Tools for Greener Technology

Lipases are enzymes that catalyze the ester bond hydrolysis in triglycerides with the release of fatty acids, mono- and diglycerides, and glycerol. The microbial lipases account for $400 million market size in 2017 and it is expected to reach $590 million by 2023. Many biotechnological processes are expedited at high temperatures and hence much research is dealt with thermostable enzymes. Cold active lipases are now gaining importance in the detergent, synthesis of chiral intermediates and frail/fragile compounds, and food and pharmaceutical industries. In addition, they consume less energy since they are active at low temperatures. These cold active lipases have not been commercially exploited so far compared to mesophilic and thermophilc lipases. Cold active lipases are distributed in microbes found at low temperatures. Only a few microbes were studied for the production of these enzymes. These cold-adapted enzymes show increased flexibility of their structures in response to freezing effect of the cold habitats. This review presents an update on cold-active lipases from microbial sources along with some structural features justifying high enzyme activity at low temperature. In addition, recent achievements on their use in various industries will also be discussed.

Characterization of Two Unique Cold-Active Lipases Derived from a Novel Deep-Sea Cold Seep Bacterium

The deep ocean microbiota has unexplored potential to provide enzymes with unique characteristics. In order to obtain cold-active lipases, bacterial strains isolated from the sediment of the deep-sea cold seep were screened, and a novel strain gcc21 exhibited a high lipase catalytic activity, even at the low temperature of 4 °C. The strain gcc21 was identified and proposed to represent a new species of Pseudomonas according to its physiological, biochemical, and genomic characteristics; it was named Pseudomonas marinensis. Two novel encoding genes for cold-active lipases (Lipase 1 and Lipase 2) were identified in the genome of strain gcc21. Genes encoding Lipase 1 and Lipase 2 were respectively cloned and overexpressed in E. coli cells, and corresponding lipases were further purified and characterized. Both Lipase 1 and Lipase 2 showed an optimal catalytic temperature at 4 °C, which is much lower than those of most reported cold-active lipases, but the activity and stability of Lipase 2 were much higher than those of Lipase 1 under different tested pHs and temperatures. In addition, Lipase 2 was more stable than Lipase 1 when treated with different metal ions, detergents, potential inhibitors, and organic solvents. In a combination of mutation and activity assays, catalytic triads of Ser, Asp, and His in Lipase 1 and Lipase 2 were demonstrated to be essential for maintaining enzyme activity. Phylogenetic analysis showed that both Lipase 1 and Lipase 2 belonged to lipase family III. Overall, our results indicate that deep-sea cold seep is a rich source for novel bacterial species that produce potentially unique cold-active enzymes.

High Efficient Biosynthesis 2-Ethylhexyl Palmitate in a Rotating Packed Bed Reactor

2-Ethylhexyl palmitate (2-EHP) is one of the important chemical products. Normally, 2-EHP is produced through the esterification. Since 2-EHP has a high viscosity, the mass transfer is significantly influenced with the product accumulation. In this work, a rotating packed bed reactor with intensive mixing was employed to solve the problem in the mass transfer during the enzymatic reaction. Under the optimal conditions, compared with the traditional continuous stirred-tank reactor (CSTR), the RPB reactor enhanced the final yield of 2-EHP, and shortened the reaction time to 1 h. In addition, the enzyme has a longer life-time in the RPB reactor, with production yield of closing to 99% after 9 batches. The results of this research indicated that the RPB has a great potential to be applied in the enzymatic production of 2-EHP. Application of the rotating packed bed in synthesis of 2-ethylhexyl palmitate.

Current perspectives for microbial lipases from extremophiles and metagenomics

Microbial lipases are most broadly used biocatalysts for environmental and industrial applications. Lipases catalyze the hydrolysis and synthesis of long acyl chain esters and have a characteristic folding pattern of α/β hydrolase with highly conserved catalytic triad (Serine, Aspartic/Glutamic acid and Histidine). Mesophilic lipases (optimal activity in neutral pH range, mesophilic temperature range, atmospheric pressure, normal salinity, non-radio-resistant, and instability in organic solvents) have been in use for many industrial biotransformation reactions. However, lipases from extremophiles can be used to design biotransformation reactions with higher yields, less byproducts or useful side products and have been predicted to catalyze those reactions also, which otherwise are not possible with the mesophilic lipases. The extremophile lipase perform activity at extremes of temperature, pH, salinity, and pressure which can be screened from metagenome and de novo lipase design using computational approaches. Despite structural similarity, they exhibit great diversity at the sequence level. This diversity is broader when lipases from the bacterial, archaeal, plant, and animal domains/kingdoms are compared. Furthermore, a great diversity of novel lipases exists and can be discovered from the analysis of the dark matter - the unexplored nucleotide/metagenomic databases. This review is an update on extremophilic microbial lipases, their diversity, structure, and classification. An overview on novel lipases which have been detected through analysis of the genomic dark matter (metagenome) has also been presented.

The highly-stable immobilization of enzymes on a waste mycelium carrier

Mycelium is an abundant waste from the fermentation industry, and the environmental problems associated with its required disposal seriously limited the development of fermentation industry. In China, millions of tons of various kinds of mycelium residues were produced each year. Research into providing added-value to mycelium, while avoiding its disposal, is hence of paramount importance. Mycelium can be used as carrier for enzymes, while the enzyme immobilization moreover improves their stability and lifetime performance. Carrier recycling, the natural degradation and disposal of artificial polymer carriers are critical issues in immobilization. This research investigated its use to manufacture a highly-stable immobilized enzyme. An acid pretreatment was employed to enhance the adsorption ability of mycelium, and its adsorption ability was compared with other carriers. Under the optimal conditions, a core-shell immobilized enzyme with porous structure was obtained. The stability and the recycle results of the evaluation indicated the excellent performance of the immobilized enzyme. The mycelium recycling was also investigated to verify the practicability. All the results indicated that the use of a mycelium-based carrier was a promising strategy for the reutilization of the fermentation waste, and this technique provides an alternative way to reduce the total amount of the waste mycelium. Meanwhile, the stability and reusability performance of the mycelium-based immobilization could also decrease the influence of the disposal of the solid waste from denatured enzymes to the environment.

Main Structural Targets for Engineering Lipase Substrate Specificity

Microbial lipases represent one of the most important groups of biotechnological biocatalysts. However, the high-level production of lipases requires an understanding of the molecular mechanisms of gene expression, folding, and secretion processes. Stable, selective, and productive lipase is essential for modern chemical industries, as most lipases cannot work in different process conditions. However, the screening and isolation of a new lipase with desired and specific properties would be time consuming, and costly, so researchers typically modify an available lipase with a certain potential for minimizing cost. Improving enzyme properties is associated with altering the enzymatic structure by changing one or several amino acids in the protein sequence. This review detailed the main sources, classification, structural properties, and mutagenic approaches, such as rational design (site direct mutagenesis, iterative saturation mutagenesis) and direct evolution (error prone PCR, DNA shuffling), for achieving modification goals. Here, both techniques were reviewed, with different results for lipase engineering, with a particular focus on improving or changing lipase specificity. Changing the amino acid sequences of the binding pocket or lid region of the lipase led to remarkable enzyme substrate specificity and enantioselectivity improvement. Site-directed mutagenesis is one of the appropriate methods to alter the enzyme sequence, as compared to random mutagenesis, such as error-prone PCR. This contribution has summarized and evaluated several experimental studies on modifying the substrate specificity of lipases.

Biodiesel and flavor compound production using a novel promiscuous cold-adapted SGNH-type lipase (HaSGNH1) from the psychrophilic bacterium Halocynthiibacter arcticus

BACKGROUND

Biodiesel and flavor compound production using enzymatic transesterification by microbial lipases provides mild reaction conditions and low energy cost compared to the chemical process. SGNH-type lipases are very effective catalysts for enzymatic transesterification due to their high reaction rate, great stability, relatively small size for convenient genetic manipulations, and ease of immobilization. Hence, it is highly important to identify novel SGNH-type lipases with high catalytic efficiencies and good stabilities.

RESULTS

A promiscuous cold-adapted SGNH-type lipase (HaSGNH1) from Halocynthiibacter arcticus was catalytically characterized and functionally explored. HaSGNH1 displayed broad substrate specificity that included tert-butyl acetate, glucose pentaacetate, and p-nitrophenyl esters with excellent stability and high efficiency. Important amino acids (N83, M86, R87, F131, and I173F) around the substrate-binding pocket were shown to be responsible for catalytic activity, substrate specificity, and reaction kinetics. Moreover, immobilized HaSGNH1 was used to produce high yields of butyl and oleic esters.

CONCLUSIONS

This work provides a molecular understanding of substrate specificities, catalytic regulation, immobilization, and industrial applications of a promiscuous cold-adapted SGNH-type lipase (HaSGNH1) from H. arcticus. This is the first analysis on biodiesel and flavor synthesis using a cold-adapted halophilic SGNH-type lipase from a Halocynthiibacter species.

Resolving the formidable barrier of oxygen transferring rate (OTR) in ultrahigh-titer bioconversion/biocatalysis by a sealed-oxygen supply biotechnology (SOS)

BACKGROUND

The critical issue in the competitiveness between bioengineering and chemical engineering is the products titer and the volume productivity. The most direct and effective approach usually employs high-density biocatalyst, while the weakened mass transfer and evoked foam problem accompany ultrahigh-density biocatalyst loading and substrate/product titer. In high-density obligate aerobic bioconversion, oxygen as electron acceptor is a speed-limiting step in bioprocesses, but sufficient oxygen supply will lead to the foaming which results in a significant reduction in oxygen utilization and the use of additional defoamers. In this study, we designed a novel sealed-oxygen supply (SOS) biotechnology to resolve the formidable barrier of oxygen transferring rate (OTR), for bio-based fuels and chemical production process.

RESULTS

Based on systemic analysis of whole-cell catalysis in Gluconobacter oxydans, a novel sealed-oxygen supply technology was smartly designed and experimentally performed for biocatalytic oxidation of alcohols, sugars and so on. By a simple operation skill of automatic online supply of oxygen in a sealed stirring tank bioreactor of SOS, OTR barrier and foaming problem was resolved with great ease. We finally obtained ultrahigh-titer products of xylonic acid (XA), 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HPA), and erythrulose at 588.4 g/L, 69.4 g/L, and 364.7 g/L, respectively. Moreover, the volume productivity of three chemical products was improved by 150-250% compared with normal biotechnology. This SOS technology provides a promising approach to promote bioengineering competitiveness and advantages over chemical engineering.

CONCLUSION

SOS technology was demonstrated as an economic and universally applicable approach to bio-based fuels and chemicals production by whole-cell catalysis. The novel technology greatly promotes the competitiveness of bioengineering for chemical engineering, and provides a promising platform for the green and environmental use of biofuels.

Cold-active extracellular lipase: Expression in Sf9 insect cells, purification, and catalysis

Cold-active lipases are gaining special attention nowadays as they are increasingly used in various industries such as fine chemical synthesis, food processing, and washer detergent. In the present study, an extracellular lipase gene from Yarrowia lipolytica (LIPY8) was cloned and expressed by baculovirus expression system. The recombinant lipase (LipY8p) was purified using chromatographic techniques, resulting in a purification factor of 25.7-fold with a specific activity of 1102.9U/mg toward olive oil. The apparent molecular mass of purified LipY8p was 40 kDa. The enzyme was most active at pH 7.5 and 17 °C. It exhibited maximum activity toward medium chain (C10) esters. The presence of transition metals such as Zn2+, Cu2+, and Ni2+ strongly inhibited the enzyme activity, which was enhanced by EDTA. The lipase activity was affected by detergents and was elevated by various organic solvents at 10% (v/v). These enzymatic properties make this lipase of considerable potential for biotechnological applications.

Expression and characterization of a novel cold-adapted chitosanase suitable for chitooligosaccharides controllable preparation

Chitooligosaccharide is widely used as a functional food additive and a valuable pharmacological agent. The transformation of chitinous biomass into valuable bioactive chitooligosaccharides is one of the most exciting applications of chitosanase. A novel glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 46 chitosanase (GsCsn46A) from rhizobacterium Gynuella sunshinyii was cloned and heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli. GsCsn46A showed maximal activity at pH 5.5 and 30 °C. GsCsn46A featured remarkable cold-adapted property, which controllably hydrolyzed chitosan to three types of chitooligosaccharides at the mild reaction condition (reaction condition: pH 5.5 at 30 °C; method for stopping the reaction: 50 °C for 30 min). The yields of three types of chitooligosaccharides products (degree of polymerization (DP): 2-7, 2-5 and 2-3) were 70.9%, 87.1% and 94.6% respectively. This novel cold-adapted chitosanase provides a cleaner production process for the controllable preparation of chitooligosaccharides with the specific DP.

Lipases: An Overview

Lipases are ubiquitous enzymes, widespread in nature. They were first isolated from bacteria in the early nineteenth century, and the associated research continuously increased due to the characteristics of these enzymes. This chapter reviews the main sources, structural properties, and industrial applications of these highly studied enzymes.

One-Step Partially Purified Lipases (ScLipA and ScLipB) from Schizophyllum commune UTARA1 Obtained via Solid State Fermentation and Their Applications

Lipases with unique characteristics are of value in industrial applications, especially those targeting cost-effectiveness and less downstream processes. The aims of this research were to: (i) optimize the fermentation parameters via solid state fermentation (SSF); and (ii) study the performance in hydrolysis and esterification processes of the one-step partially purified Schizophyllum commune UTARA1 lipases. Lipase was produced by cultivating S. commune UTARA1 on sugarcane bagasse (SB) with used cooking oil (UCO) via SSF and its production was optimized using Design-Expert^® 7.0.0. Fractions 30% (ScLipA) and 70% (ScLipB) which contained high lipase activity were obtained by stepwise (NH₄)₂SO₄ precipitation. Crude fish oil, coconut oil and butter were used to investigate the lipase hydrolysis capabilities by a free glycerol assay. Results showed that ScLipA has affinities for long, medium and short chain triglycerides, as all the oils investigated were degraded, whereas ScLipB has affinities for long chain triglycerides as it only degrades crude fish oil. During esterification, ScLipA was able to synthesize trilaurin and triacetin. Conversely, ScLipB was specific towards the formation of 2-mono-olein and triacetin. From the results obtained, it was determined that ScLipA and ScLipB are sn-2 regioselective lipases. Hence, the one-step partial purification strategy proved to be feasible for partial purification of S. commune UTARA1 lipases that has potential use in industrial applications.

New lipases by mining of Pleurotus ostreatus genome

The analysis of Pleurotus ostreatus genome reveals the presence of automatically annotated 53 lipase and 34 carboxylesterase putative coding-genes. Since no biochemical or physiological data are available so far, a functional approach was applied to identify lipases from P. ostreatus. In the tested growth conditions, four lipases were found expressed, with different patterns depending on the used C source. Two of the four identified proteins (PleoLip241 and PleoLip369), expressed in both analysed conditions, were chosen for further studies, such as an in silico analysis and their molecular characterization. To overcome limits linked to native production, a recombinant expression approach in the yeast Pichia pastoris was applied. Different expression levels were obtained: PleoLip241 reached a maximum activity of 4000 U/L, whereas PleoLip369 reached a maximum activity of 700 U/L. Despite their sequence similarity, these enzymes exhibited different substrate specificity and diverse stability at pH, temperature, and presence of metals, detergents and organic solvents. The obtained data allowed classifying PleoLip241 as belonging to the “true lipase” family. Indeed, by phylogenetic analysis the two proteins fall in different clusters. PleoLip241 was used to remove the hydrophobic layer from wool surface in order to improve its dyeability. The encouraging results obtained with lipase treated wool led to forecast PleoLip241 applicability in this field.

Rotating packed bed reactor for enzymatic synthesis of biodiesel

The aim of the present work was to study the applicability of rotating packed bed (RPB) for biodiesel through the biocatalytic method. In this research, the RPB facilitated a more homogeneous mixture of substrates due to its higher mass transfer efficiency and better micromixing environment. This was superior to the traditional continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) system. Candida sp. 99-125 lipase was used without any organic solvent or additive, and demonstrated a significant catalyst efficiency. The key factors, such as the high gravity factor (β), pattern of the catalyst and methanol-FFA molar ratio etc. were investigated. Under the optimal conditions, the hydrolysis yield of fatty acids was 97.0% after 24h and the esterification yield of biodiesel was 96.0% 6h later. The esterifying yield didn't have an obvious decline in the fifth batch. Consequently, the RPB is an attractive and effective reactor for enzymatic synthesis.

High-level expression and characterization of a novel cutinase from Malbranchea cinnamomea suitable for butyl butyrate production

BACKGROUND

Butyl butyrate has been considered as a promising fuel source because it is a kind of natural ester which can be converted from renewable and sustainable lignocellulosic biomass. Compared with the conventional chemical methods for butyl butyrate production, the enzymatic approach has been demonstrated to be more attractive, mainly owing to the mild reaction conditions, high specificity, low energy consumption, and environmental friendliness. Cutinases play an important role in the butyl butyrate production process. However, the production level of cutinases is still relatively low. Thus, to identify novel cutinases suitable for butyl butyrate synthesis and enhance their yields is of great value in biofuel industry.

RESULTS

A novel cutinase gene (McCut) was cloned from a thermophilic fungus Malbranchea cinnamomea and expressed in Pichia pastoris. The highest cutinase activity of 12, 536 U/mL was achieved in 5-L fermentor, which is by far the highest production for a cutinase. McCut was optimally active at pH 8.0 and 45 °C. It exhibited excellent stability within the pH range of 3.0-10.5 and up to 75 °C. The cutinase displayed broad substrate specificity with the highest activity towards p-nitrophenyl butyrate and tributyrin. It was capable of hydrolyzing cutin, polycaprolactone, and poly(butylene succinate). Moreover, McCut efficiently synthesized butyl butyrate with a maximum esterification efficiency of 96.9% at 4 h. The overall structure of McCut was resolved as a typical α/β-hydrolase fold. The structural differences between McCut and Aspergillus oryzae cutinase in groove and loop provide valuable information for redesign of McCut. These excellent features make it useful in biosynthesis and biodegradation fields.

CONCLUSIONS

A novel cutinase from M. cinnamomea was identified and characterized for the first time. High-level expression by P. pastoris is by far the highest for a cutinase. The enzyme exhibited excellent stability and high esterification efficiency for butyl butyrate production, which may make it a good candidate in biofuel and chemical industries.

Discovery, Molecular Mechanisms, and Industrial Applications of Cold-Active Enzymes

Cold-active enzymes constitute an attractive resource for biotechnological applications. Their high catalytic activity at temperatures below 25°C makes them excellent biocatalysts that eliminate the need of heating processes hampering the quality, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness of industrial production. Here we provide a review of the isolation and characterization of novel cold-active enzymes from microorganisms inhabiting different environments, including a revision of the latest techniques that have been used for accomplishing these paramount tasks. We address the progress made in the overexpression and purification of cold-adapted enzymes, the evolutionary and molecular basis of their high activity at low temperatures and the experimental and computational techniques used for their identification, along with protein engineering endeavors based on these observations to improve some of the properties of cold-adapted enzymes to better suit specific applications. We finally focus on examples of the evaluation of their potential use as biocatalysts under conditions that reproduce the challenges imposed by the use of solvents and additives in industrial processes and of the successful use of cold-adapted enzymes in biotechnological and industrial applications.