The marine ecosystem has been known to be a rich source of novel enzymes. Agarase is a key enzyme that can hydrolyze agar in the marine environment. Marine bacterial agarase has been isolated from various sources, such as sediments, coastal water, and deep sea and from the surface of crustaceans and seaweeds. This review presents an account of the agarase production of marine bacteria. General information about agar, agarase, isolation, and purification of marine bacterial agarases; the biochemical properties of native agarase from marine bacteria; the biochemical properties of recombinant marine bacterial agarases from engineered microorganisms; and the industrial future of marine bacterial agarases is analyzed. With recent biotechnological processes, researchers need novel functional enzymes like agarase from marine resources, such as marine bacteria, that can be used for diverse applications in the biotechnological industry. Marine bacterial agarases might be of significant interest to the industry because they are safe and are a natural source. This review highlights the potential of marine bacteria as important sources of agarase for application in various industries.
Keywords: Agar; Agarase; Biochemical properties; Industrial application; Marine bacteria.