Metagenomic screening strategies for bioprospecting enzymes from environmental samples

Abstract

Globally, there is a growing demand for biocatalysts because of the associated efficacy and efficiency. The applications of enzymes in food, paper, pulp, textile, and chemical industries have prompted enzyme exploration. Microbes, being the natural reservoirs of enzymes, have gained researchers’ attention, and the quest for microbial enzymes has increased in past years. This review provides insights about metagenomics techniques and their applicability in obtaining microbial-origin enzymes from diverse environmental samples besides highlighting their importance. The metagenomic approach has emerged as a promising way towards replacing conventional microbial techniques with culture-independent methods involving direct isolation of DNA environmental samples. There are two primary methodologies, i.e., functional-based and sequence-based, to identify and characterize industrially valuable biocatalysts from the environmental microcosms. Many of the obtained enzymes are successfully used in diverse food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industries. However, there are some complications associated with it that can be minimized only by further investigations. The paper focuses on the advancement of metagenomics for bioprospecting to stress on its significance in microbial characterization and exploration. This will also ensure the in-depth analysis of several unexplored and unknown microbial communities and/or members from complex niches.