Production and Purification of Laccase from White rot fungi

White rot fungi are unique in their strong ability to extensively degrade xenobiotics and recalcitrant pollutants have been widely applied in bioremediation and environmental biotechnology. These secrete extracellular enzyme laccase which plays an important role in degradation of xenobiotics. In the present study the white rot basidiomycete Trametes versicolor NCIM 1086 was tested for its ability to produce laccase on natural agricultural residues. Palm fibre was selected as substrate due to its high peak enzyme activity, the maximum laccase activity was obtained in preliminary studies by incubating flasks containing palm fibre of 80% initial moisture content (pH 4.0) as substrate supplemented with mannitol (1.0% w/v), peptone(1% w/v), CuSO4 (1mM) and 4 ml of T.versicolor conidial suspension for 7days at 300C. Inoculum volume, initial moisture content, carbon supplement concentration and CuSO4 concentration were selected for optimization by Central Composite Design (CCD) which showed significant effect on laccase production in the preliminary studies. Decolorization studies were carried out on textile effluent dyes by partially purified laccase.