Industrial production of laccase Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Industrial production of laccase - Essay Example This enzyme is mostly seen in higher plants and fungi. In plants, laccases can be seen in trees, turnips, cabbage, asparagus, beets, apples, pears, potatoes and other vegetables. It is also detected in other plant species like mango, mung bean, prune, syncamore, peach, pine and lacquer. It is also evident among insects likeCalliphora,Diploptera,Drosophelia, Sarchophaga,Rhodnius and Papilio.However, wood rotting fungi are the most common producers of Laccase. Even though laccase is present in plants, insects and fungi it’s activity is limited in bacteria like Marinomonas meditteranea, Azospirillium lipoferum. Laccase is an enzyme with less saccharide compounds in bacteria and fungi compared to plants. The studied that conducted are on extracellular proteins although intracellular proteins are found in several insects and fungi. The purified form of laccase exhibits a blue appearance. The production of laccase from fungi is practiced for industrial use. As per Mayer( 2002, pg 55 1-65)â€Å"Laccases are involved in fungal virulence and possibly in lignification in higher plants† History and Development The laccase enzyme was discovered in Japanese tree Rhus Vernicifera more than one century ago. For many years it was believed that only the ligninolytic system of some white rot fungi could aid in production of lacasse. However, it was Bourbonnais andPaice who found that laccase can catalyze the oxidation of non – phenolic benzylalchohols with the aid of redox mediator. This led to the discovery that laccase mediator system can degrade effectively residual lignin. Because of its extensive reaction capabilities and broad usage in biotechnology it was further studied. In most fungi, lacasse is produced at low level which is not enough for commercial purpose.Lacasse are promising enzymes which has a conventional usage in industries like textile, pulp and paper, pharmaceuticals and nanobiotechnology. Lacasse is generally produced by fungi grown on ba sal media at low concentration. As per Gedikli(2010,pg.9 -16) â€Å"Lacasse activity depends on the type of fungal strain used, growth conditions employed, the presence and the absence of inducers, incubation time, nature and composition of culture medium and genetic manipulation†.In order to obtain higher concentration various supplements need to be added like metal ions. White rot fungi is known to have diverse response to inducers in lacasse activity. If inducers are added it can enhance the concentration of lacasse.The lacasse production is highly depended on the cultivation conditions of the fungi strains. The lacasse is primarily produced in industries by submerged cultivation method. However, the excessive growth of mycelium is one of the disadvantages of this method as it hampers the production yield due to mass transfer and metabolic limitation. But this situation can be controlled by the immobilization of cells. Solid state fermentation is also a method to produce l accase. The laccase enzyme is extracellular and secreted in to a medium through filamentous fungi. The secondary metabolism of different fungi generally produces lacasse. The lacasse production is influenced by different factors like type of cultivation, concentration of

Foreign Direct Investment in Developing Countries Essay

Foreign Direct Investment in Developing Countries - Essay Example The current global climate relies heavily on the existence of Foreign Direct Investment as a determining factor in the economic growth of any region. However, questions remain as to why there are certain pockets of countries where FDI seems to be flourishing, while others are vying for attention in this regard. There are many statistics that point to this (Vaknin, 2007, np). For example, only one third of the developing and poor nations get any forms of FDIs, and these are perhaps the neediest ones. Also, the contribution of the FDIs in the global economy is not even five percent. Then why is it considered as the next wave of development and a ray of light for poor nations' development FDIs have been strongly criticized for seizing the local talent of a country, preventing local growth, and thereby further reducing the economic development. Alongside, the other political, social and legal ramifications are amongst others in the list of problems associated with FDI (Vaknin, 2007, np). These and other such arguments have been raised in the past at the time when FDIs were being introduced for the first time across the world, and many critics still believe that such actions are leading to overall negative impacts in the long run on the poor countries. Foreign Direct Investment is defined as "investment in domestic structures, equipment and organization by foreign private sector or government. FDI does not include foreign portfolio investment in a domestic economy. The latter refers to investment in equity of domestic companies by foreign economic agents" (Kumo, 2009, np).On the other hand, there are many examples showing FDI as a potential source of success in the economy of a developing country. India for example, has become one of the world's favorite in gaining FDIs (Bhaumik et al, 2003, pp 2 and 3). The IT sector is one of the most prominent examples, which have jumpstarted India's GDP to one of the largest in the developing world. These and many such shining examples are now showing that FDIs can play a very important contributory role in improving the economic prosperity of poor nations. The initial skepticism is now giving way to acceptance and even appreciation of FDIs as research results show improved economic outcomes w ith the introduction of multinational companies and foreign investments over loans.Education is another recently discovered successful area where FDIs are taking place in India. Although critics pose questions about the cons of the education FDI in terms of personal gains instead of the gains for the country, so far, these investments are providing countries with a rope to hang on to, where others are sinking (Bhaumik et al, 2003, pp 4). The number of researches conducted on the beneficial effects of FDIs outnumber those that critic them. FDIs have been so far found to directly improve the financial and educational sectors of a country (Alfaro et al, 2007, pp 7). These countries are termed as the host countries. Researches show that those countries with good links between the final and intermediary industry sectors as well as good human capital are likely to get more FDIs (Alfaro et al, 20