Modification of Plant Carbohydrates Using Fungal Enzymes

Fungi, either alone or within highly dynamic fungal communities, are considered important drivers for terrestrial carbon-recycling via their continuous enzyme-driven degradation of plant biomass. As plant biomass is mainly composed of polysaccharides, fungal carbohydrate active enzymes have evolved into efficient tools to degrade and engineer the broad variety of polysaccharides present in nature. Therefore, fungal enzymes are also major biocatalysts in many plant polysaccharide based food and biotechnology applications, and essential for the transition from conventional chemical processes to biorefineries. This article provides an overview of the most commonly occurring plant carbohydrates and their corresponding fungal carbohydrate modifying enzymes.