Rubber-degrading enzymes

Tsuchii, A. and Takeda, K., Rubber-degrading enzyme from a bacterial culture, Appl. Bnviron. Microbiol, 56, 269, 1990. 

Natural mbber, the other natural hydrocarbon polymer, consisting mainly of cfr-l,4-polyisoprene is relatively resistant to microbial attack in comparison to other natural polymers. A number of micro-organisms have been reported to degrade natural rubber. An enzyme which degrades the mbber was isolated from the extracellular culture medium of Xanthomonas sp., and the erude fractions which are capable of depolymerizing natural mbber in the latex state have been reported.The same authors " reported on a Nocardia strain that used natural mbber as its sole carbon source. 

Proteins and carbohydrates are the most important and renewable biological polymeries which are frequently used in the industrial and medicinal fields. Most enzymes catalyzing the primary degradation of protein and carbohydrates are hydrolase enzymes. Apart from these polymers, a relatively lower amount of natural polymers such as natural rubber, nucleic acids and lignin, are available. In this section, the biodegradation mechanisms of the more abundant and well-known natural polymers, such as proteins, cellulose, starch, chitin, chitosan, nucleic acids, and their derivatives, are omitted because many excellent reviews and books are available. 

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