Extreme cold environments are potential reservoirs of microorganisms producing unique and novel enzymes in response to environmental stress conditions. Such cold-adapted enzymes prove to be valuable tools in industrial biotechnology to meet the increasing demand for efficient biocatalysts. The inherent properties like high catalytic activity at low temperature, high specific activity and low activation energy make the cold-adapted enzymes well suited for application in various industries. The interest in this group of enzymes is expanding as they are the preferred alternatives to harsh chemical synthesis owing to their biodegradable and non-toxic nature. Irrespective of the multitude of applications, the use of cold-adapted enzymes at the industrial level is still limited. The current review presents the unique adaptive features and the role of cold-adapted enzymes in major industries like food, detergents, molecular biology and bioremediation. The review highlights the significance of omics technology i.e., metagenomics, metatranscriptomics and metaproteomics in enzyme bioprospection from extreme environments. It further points out the challenges in using cold-adapted enzymes at the industrial level and the innovations associated with novel enzyme prospection strategies. Documentations on cold-adapted enzymes and their applications are abundant; however, reports on the role of omics tools in exploring cold-adapted enzymes are still scarce. So, the review covers the aspect concerning the novel techniques for enzyme discovery from nature.
Keywords: Cold-adapted enzymes; Flexibility; Industrial applications; Omics tools; Psychrophiles.
© King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology 2021.