Extracellular enzymes of wild mushrooms

Mushrooms are saprophytic microorganisms that flourish on the dead organic matter of vegetative origin and are distributed worldwide. Wild mushrooms are popular worldwide because of their use in food and medicinal values. Mushrooms are available throughout the year, with two distinct seasons. For their growth and metabolism, they may use almost any agricultural waste as a substrate. Numerous biochemical changes are expected to occur throughout the proliferation of mushroom mycelium and its development into mature fruiting bodies (or sporophores), leading to the extracellular secretion of enzymes to dissolve insoluble materials into simple and soluble molecules. As a result, enzymes play an important role in mushroom production, including cellulose, laccase, lipase, amylase, and protease. Exploration of the enzymatic behavior of these mushrooms is an important trend for understanding their physiological and biochemical characteristics and to clear up considerable promising prospects for industrial and biotechnological applications. In this present chapter, the characteristics of the extracellular enzymes are discussed. © 2022 Sanju Bala Dhull, Aarti Bains, Prince Chawla, and Pardeep Kumar Sadh. All rights reserved.