Updates on inulinases: Structural aspects and biotechnological applications.

Inulinases are inulin catalyzing enzymes which belongs to glycoside hydrolases (GH) family 32. Bacteria, fungi and yeasts are the potential sources of inulinases. In the present biotechnological era, inulinases are gaining considerable attention, due to their wide range of applications which includes the production of high fructose syrup, fructooligosaccharides and many other important metabolites like bioethanol, organic acids, single cell oil, 2,3-butanediol, single cell proteins, etc. These applications of inulinases have attracted the researchers world-wide to understand the inulin-inulinase interactions for polyfructan hydrolysis. To understand these interactions, the information on structural organization of inulinases is very important which is scarce in literature. The current review highlights the structural and functional properties of inulinases, and difference in their structural organization. The biotechnological potential of inulinases for the production of different bio-products from inulin/inulin-rich raw materials using different bioprocessing strategies has also been elaborated.