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Archaea Domain As Biocatalyst in Environmental Biotechnology and Industrial Applications: a Review

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Archaea Domain As Biocatalyst in Environmental Biotechnology and Industrial Applications: a Review Journal of Advances in Microbiology 5(2): 1-21, 2017; Article no.JAMB.35591 ISSN: 2456-7116 Archaea Domain as Biocatalyst in Environmental Biotechnology and Industrial Applications: A Review Mohd Asyraf Kassim1*, Noor Haza Fazlin Hashim2,3 and Nur Athirah Yusof4 1Bioprocess Technology Division, School of Industrial Technology, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Malaysia. 2School of Biosciences and Biotechnology, Faculty of Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Malaysia. 3Water Quality Laboratory, National Hydraulic Research Institute Malaysia (NAHRIM), Seri Kembangan, Malaysia. 4Biotechnology Research Institute, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Malaysia. Authors’ contributions This work was carried out in collaboration between all authors. Author MAK manage the outline and literature search and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. Authors NHFH and NAY helped in the writing certain part of the manuscript such as introduction and revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Article Information DOI: 10.9734/JAMB/2017/35591 Editor(s): (1) P. Rama Bhat, PG Biotechnology, Alva’s College, Karnataka, India. Reviewers: (1) Eliton da Silva Vasconcelos, Federal University of São Carlos – UFSCar, Brazil. (2) Selma Gomes Ferreira Leite, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Complete Peer review History: http://www.sciencedomain.org/review-history/20731 Received 20th July 2017 Accepted 21st August 2017 Review Article th Published 30 August 2017 ABSTRACT Achaea constitute a considerable fraction of the prokaryotes which colonize marine and terrestrial ecosystem especially in the extreme environments. These microorganisms play crucial roles and contribute significant impacts on global energy cycles. In fact, the extremophilic characteristics acquired by many archaeans display unusual properties of adaptations to extreme conditions which make them a potentially valuable resource in exploring new biotechnological processes and a wide range of industrial applications. In this review, the role of archaea domain as biocatalysts in environmental biotechnology and industrial applications were summarized and discussed. This review has been categories into three main sections, (a) archaeal characteristics and their extremozymes (b) environmental biotechnology that covers on bioremediation, hydrocarbon biodegradation and biomining (c) industrial applications, which discusses on the production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), biosurfactant, and antibiotic produced by archaea domain. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Corresponding author: E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]; Kassim et al.; JAMB, 5(2): 1-21, 2017; Article no.JAMB.35591 Keywords: Archaea; aromatic; bioleaching; extremozyme; halocin; polyhydroxylalkanoate (PHA). 1. INTRODUCTION shapes, ranging from spherical, spiral, oblong, rectangular to rod. One of the distinguishing Archaea are prokaryotic microorganisms that can features of archaea is the structure of their be found in the extreme environments. Due to membrane glycolipids; where archaea do not their capability to live under extreme conditions, contain murein at their cell wall. Archaea exhibit the exploration on the potential of archaea as unique features of cell surface organelles that biocatalysts for industrial applications has are not present in bacteria such as flagella, hami, become the subject of intensive research, aiming cannulaeand pili [1]. on the cell structures, enzyme characterizations and its adaptability under extreme conditions. Year 1977 marked a history when Carl Woese, a These exclusive properties make them as a microbiologist discovered two distinct groups of valuable resource with great potential organisms that were not related to one another applications in a wide range of new technologies. than they were to eukaryotes [2]. Later, a new classification was proposed based on Moreover, the study on archaeal enzymes that comparisons of gene sequences of the small are able to maintain their activity under extreme ribosomal subunit (SSU), which was accepted conditions such as high temperature, salinity, pH until now; three domains of life consist of and pressure has also gain great interest among Eukarya, Bacteria and Archaea [3]. After the researchers. The discovery of extremophilic discovery by Woese, molecular biology archaea and their enzymes has lead to techniques have been the preferred choice to significant effects conspicuously on biocatalysis distinguish between archaea and bacteria. activities. In addition, extremozymes produced by Indeed, the organization and information archaea are widely used in the synthesis of processing system in archaea point to a closer pharmaceutical products, antibodies, cosmetics, relationship to eukaryotes rather than bacteria. dietary supplements, enzymatic preparations, Apart from that, the structures of ribosomes and bioremediation, renewable energy, as well as all chromatin, presence of histones and sequence kinds of chemical compounds production. The similarity contribute to the classification of application of extremozymes from archaeal cells archaea [4,5]. In contrast, the metabolic has allow great improvements in multiple industry pathways of archaea show similarity to sectors and help to reduce the quantity of waste prokaryotic rather than eukaryotic counterparts production, energy usage and material [6]. Table 1 shows the comparison of consumption. Thus, archaeal applications harbor characteristics between bacteria and archaea. promise for creating cheaper technology, cost- effective sustainable energy sources and 3. BIOCATALYST environmentally friendly. The trend to an increasing number of researches The main hallmarks of this review are to discuss on genome data of extremophilic microorganisms and provide a comprehensive review on the worldwide has able to discover hundreds of future prospects of achaea as biocatalysts in enzymes with great potential in white environmental biotechnology and other industrial biotechnology. Currently, extremozymes are applications. In this review, the emphasis highly in demand in industries as they are able to encompasses on the type of extremozymes that withstand harsh processes for a long period of are produced by different group of achaea, time. Overall at present, microbial enzymes are enzymes and metabolites production and their currently on demand in various industries as they potential industrial applications. This review contribute immense advantages such as would be beneficial to scientists and researchers reducing the risk of contamination, improving the in understanding the potential of achaea as tools transfer rates, lowering viscosity and increasing for various value-added products and the solubility of substrates. Majority of the revolutionize the current industrial applications. industrial enzymes have been derived from bacteria and fungi. Nowadays, archaeal enzymes 2. ARCHAEA are in the limelight of intensive investigations due to their nature that grow optimally at extreme In general, Archaea have similar characteristics conditions. In terms of definition, extremozymes as bacteria in terms of shape, size and are enzymes that are able to withstand appearance. Archaeal cells can take all types of harsh and extreme conditions in industrial 2 Kassim et al.; JAMB, 5(2): 1-21, 2017; Article no.JAMB.35591 Table 1. Comparison of the distinctive characteristics of Archaea and Bacteria Archaea Bacteria Ribosome Present Present Cell wall Pseudopeptidoglycan Peptidoglycan/Lipoposacchari de Habitat Extreme environment: hot spring, Soil, water, animal, plant and salt lake, ruminant etc. Growth Asexually by the process of binary Asexually by the fission, budding and fragmentation binary fission, budding and fragmentation Ability to form spore Genomic organization Topoisomerase I I/III Recombinase RadA RecA DNA ligase NAD dependant ATP dependant Replicative HelicaseA DnaB helicase DNA polymerase Family B polymerase DNA E polymerase (PolIII) Histones Yes No Introns Some present Rare/none Protein synthesis Methionine as start codon Formylmethionine as start codon Example Family Family Enterobactericeae Euryarchaeota (Aciduliprofundum (Escherichia coli) and boonei) and Crenarchaeota Streptococaceae (Sulfolobus solfataricus) (Streptococcus pneumoniae) processes [7]. Perhaps, the high demands of the temperature such as increased hydrophobicity biotech industries for tailor-made novel and surface charge, higher hydrogen bonds, biocatalysts, and the rapid development of new shorter loops structure, reduction in thermolabile techniques such as genomics, proteomics and amino acid, and lowered in surface area to metabolomics are the main factors contributing volume ratio [9]. Owing to that, thermophilic the enhancement of the development of novel enzymes are currently on demand in vast extremozymes. Here, this review will focus on industries which require superior biocatalysts that enzymes that are derived from extremophilic are capable to work at high temperatures. archaea and their relevance for industrial Moreover, reactions at high temperatures reduce applications. the probability of undesired by-products and microbial contamination. In addition, thermophilic 3.1 Thermophilic Extremozymes archaea also show high resistance under high pressure and presence of chemical denaturants Thermophiles can be further categorized either such as solvent and detergents [10]. as thermophiles or hyperthermophiles.
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