Purification and preliminary characterization of a cold-adapted extracellular proteinase from Trichoderma atroviride

Biotechnology of cold-active proteases

The bulk of Earth's biosphere is cold (<5 °C) and inhabited by psychrophiles. Biocatalysts from psychrophilic organisms (psychrozymes) have attracted attention because of their application in the ongoing efforts to decrease energy consumption. Proteinases as a class represent the largest category of industrial enzymes. There has been an emphasis on employing cold-active proteases in detergents because this allows laundry operations at ambient temperatures. Proteases have been used in environmental bioremediation, food industry and molecular biology. In view of the present limited understanding and availability of cold-active proteases with diverse characteristics, it is essential to explore Earth's surface more in search of an ideal cold-active protease. The understanding of molecular and mechanistic details of these proteases will open up new avenues to tailor proteases with the desired properties. A detailed account of the developments in the production and applications of cold-active proteases is presented in this review.

Proteases from psychrotrophs: an overview

Proteases are hydrolytic enzymes which catalyze the total hydrolysis of proteins in to amino acids. Although proteolytic enzymes can be obtained from animals and plants but microorganisms are the preferred source for industrial applications in view of scientific and economical advantage. Among various groups of microbes, psychrotrophs are ideal candidates for enzymes production keeping in mind that enzymes active at low temperature and stable under alkaline condition, in presence of oxidants and detergents are in large demand as laundry additive. The proteases from psychrotrophs also find application in environmental bioremediation, food and molecular biology. During the previous two decades, proteases from psychrotrophs have received increased attention because of their wide range of applications, but the full potential of psychrotrophic proteases has not been exploited. This review focuses attention on the present status of knowledge on the production, optimization, molecular characteristics, applications, substrate specificity, and crystal structure of psychrotrophic proteases. The review will help in making strategies for exploitation of psychrotrophic protease resources and improvement of enzymes to obtain more robust proteases of industrial and biotechnological significance.