Degradation of Plant Cell Wall Polymers by Fungi

Abstract

Fungi represent the most important and widespread group of organisms responsible for the recycling of primary plant biomass back into the ecosystem and are therefore essential for the maintenance of the global carbon cycle. The large group of saprobic fungi is specialized in the decomposition of dead plant cell wall material, including the biopolymers cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin and lignin. The ecological significance of these processes has promoted research within the last decades towards understanding the role of individual enzymatic and non-enzymatic components in the degradation of these complex polymers. Today, the fungi and their enzymes are used in numerous important biotechnological processes in the food, textile, and pulp and paper industries. Limited natural resources and the gradual introduction of environmentally friendly technologies open up new fields for their application, e.g. in the conversion of renewable plant biomass into industrially useful products such as sugars and bio-ethanol. This review summarises our current knowledge on the diversity of plant cell wall-degrading enzymes, their substrates and their producers.