ABSTRACT
Laccases (EC 1.10.3.2, p-diphenol dioxigen oxidoreductase) are a class of oxidative enzymes which are attracting increasing interest for their potential industrial applications. Laccases belong to the family of blue multicopper oxidases (MCO). Although the presence of laccase-like enzymes has been reported in bacteria and insects, laccases can be mainly divided into two groups: laccases from higher plants and those from fungi. Infact the presence of laccases has been described in almost every fungus examined. They are widely distributed in ascomycetes, duteromycetes, and basidiomycetes. Laccases are also reported in saprophytic ascomycetes of composts, in a few fungi-forming ectomycorrhiza, or orchideoid mycorrhiza, as well as from the species of genera that contain both saprotrophic and mycorrhizal fungi (Dwivedi et al. 2011b). So far, laccase production has not been demonstrated in Zygomycetes and Chytridiomycetes except by a zygomycete from the genus Mucor (Bonugli-Santos et al. 2010).
