Anaerobic fungi

Abstract

The discovery of obligatory anaerobic fungi in the rumen of sheep by Orpin in 1975 has motivated studies on such microorganisms in laboratories, in different parts of the world. Those studies have shown that the anaerobic fungi do not contain mitochondria; instead, they have organelles such as hydrogenosomes, which are involved in energy generation. They produce enzymes that can be found either associated to a multi-protein complex of a high molecular mass, similar to the cellulosome produced by anaerobic bacteria, or individually. Different hydrolytic enzymes produced by several species of those fungi, mainly cellulases and hemicellulases, have been isolated and characterized. In general, those enzymes have specific activities similar or higher than others produced by corresponding aerobic sources; therefore, they show great potential for industrial use.