Exploring current scenario and developments in the field of microbial L-asparaginase production and applications: A review

L-asparaginase, an amidohydrolase that catalyses break down of L-asparagine into aspartic acid and ammonia, is one of the most prominent biopharmaceuticals. L-asparaginase (LA) has been used as therapeutic agent for treatment of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL) across the globe. LA comprises around 40% of the total enzyme market in the healthcare sector. Furthermore, the recent commercialization of fungal LAs in the food industry to prevent acrylamide formation has gained a lot of attention. This review provides an overview about the latest trends and advancements in investigation of sources, production techniques and various applications of microbial LA. This review catalogues various novel sources of LA production with desirable properties such as high thermal stability, substrate specificity, high yield etc during last decade. Enhancement in LA production using genetic and metabolic engineering, suitable fermentation techniques, media engineering have been also summarized. In addition, potential of lesser-known LA applications in biosensor developments, amino-acid synthesis, flavour enhancement, bio-grouting etc. have been addressed. With this, the review is intended to provide a solid background, current advancements and future perspectives of microbial LA to scientific community for further research.