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The accumulation of waste and toxic compounds has become increasingly harmful to the environment and human health. In this context, the use of laccases has become a focus of interest, due to the properties of these versatile enzymes: low substrate specificity, and water formation as a non-toxic end product. Thus, we begin our study with a general overview of the importance of laccase for the environment and industry, starting with the sources of laccases (plant, bacterial and fungal laccases), the structure and mechanism of laccases, microbial biosynthesis, and the immobilization of laccases. Then, we continue with an overview of agro-waste treatment by laccases wherein we observe the importance of laccases for the biodisponibilization of substrates and the biodegradation of agro-industrial byproducts; we then show some aspects regarding the degradation of xenobiotic compounds, dyes, and pharmaceutical products. The objective of this research is to emphasize and fully investigate the effects of laccase action on the decomposition of lignocellulosic materials and on the removal of harmful compounds from soil and water, in order to provide a sustainable solution to reducing environmental pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the waste generated in leather processing, proteic and lipidic compounds are particularly dominant. Enzymes, like proteases and lipases, have an important role in biodegradation of collagen, keratin and fats in leather waste. Present investigation deals with isolation, selection and characterization of proteolytic and lipolytic microorganisms in order to perform biodegradation of waste from leather industry. The inoculum of microorganisms was sampled from old waste storage dump leather. The proteolytic microorganisms were isolated using screening method in presence of casein and gelatin substrate type, respectively. The microorganisms that secrete the lipolytic enzymes were isolated using medium that contained the Tween 80. These microorganisms identified by microscopic analysis can be used for improvement of waste leather biodegradation process. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]