Evaluation of Basidiomycetes Wild Strains Grown in Agro-Industrial Residues for Their Anti-Tyrosinase and Antioxidant Potential and for the Production of Biocatalysts

White-rot basidiomycetes are the only microorganisms with the ability to produce both hydrolytic (cellulases and hemicellulases) and oxidative (ligninolytic) enzymes for degrading cellulose/hemicellulose and lignin. In addition, they produce biologically active natural products with important application in cosmetic formulations, either as pure compounds or as standardized extracts. In the present work, three wild strains of Basidiomycetes fungi (Pleurotus citrinopileatus, Abortiporus biennis and Ganoderma resinaceum) from Greek habitats were grown in agro-industrial residues (oil mill wastewater, and corn cob) and evaluated for their anti-tyrosinase and antioxidant activity and for the production of biotechnologically relevant enzymes. P. citrinopileatus showed the most interesting tyrosinase inhibitory activity, while A. biennis showed the highest DPPH(2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl) scavenging potential. Corn cobs were the most appropriate carbon source for maximizing the inhibitory effect of fungal biomasses on both activities, while the use of oil mill wastewater selectively increased the anti-tyrosinase potential of P. citrinopileatus culture filtrate. All strains were found to be preferential lignin degraders, similarly to most white-rot fungi. Bioinformatic analyses were performed on the proteome of the strains P. citrinopileatus and A. biennis, focusing on CAZymes with biotechnological relevance, and the results were compared with the enzyme activities of culture supernatants. Overall, all three strains showed strong production of oxidative enzymes for biomass conversion applications.