International Journal of Pharma Research and Health Sciences, 2020; 8 (6): 3237-3241 3237 IIIIIIIII© International Journal of Pharma Research and Health Sciences. All rights reserved DOI:10.21276/ijprhs.2020.06.01 Marwa O et al. CODEN (USA)-IJPRUR, e-ISSN: 2348-6465 Mini Review Article All in one Thermoascus aurantiacus and its Industrial Applications Marwa O Elnahas, Waill A Elkhateeb * , Ghoson M Daba Chemistry of Natural and Microbial Products Department, Pharmaceutical Industries Division, National Research Centre, Dokki, Giza, 12622, Egypt. ABSTRACT: Background: Fungi are well known biotechnological tools that have various applications in the fields of industry. Thanks to their ability to produce set of prestigious enzymes that is eco-friendly and can replace harmful chemicals used in those industries. Thermoascus is an ascomycetous fungus that belongs to family Trichocomaceae, which is famous for its promising mycotechnological applications due to its capability to produce potent heat stable enzymes such as cellulases, xylanases, and β-glucosidases. Object: The aim of this review is to highlight the description. ecology, and important industrial applications of the genus Thermoascus in general, and the species Thermoascus aurantiacus in particular focusing on its heat-resistant hydrolase enzymes that have different potential biotechnological applications. Conclusion: Thermoascus originated metabolites are of potential biological activities especially as antioxidant agents. Furthermore, enzymes produced by Thermoascus are involved as promising tool in many important mycotechnological applications such as food, textile, paper, pulp, animal feed, conversion of biomass into biofuels, as well as other chemical industries. Understanding the importance of these fungus thermostable enzymes may contribute in encouraging for further studies in order to employ them in new biotechnological fields. Enhancing the production of industrial thermostable enzymes from Thermoascus aurantiacus via the application of different statistical approaches and newly developed molecular biology methods is of critical importance. Furthermore, more effort should be directed towards introducing Thermoascus aurantiacus into new hosts for further studying the deconstruction of plant cell wall. Keywords: Thermoascus aurantiacus, Thermostable enzymes, Industrial application, Biofuel. 1. INTRODUCTION Thermophilic fungi have gained an importance as promising sources of thermostable enzymes that can improve the biochemical conversion of various natural resources to biofuels [1]. Numerous saprophytic fungi that can tolerate high temperatures (thermophiles) have been detected in various environments, like composts where organic matter are decomposed at high temperatures [2]. Continual consumption of non-renewable resources of energygaina lot of attention by many researchers and this encourages many scientists to utilize other renewable resources of energy, including secondary agriculture resources. One of these agriculture resources is lignocellulosic biomass that can be converted to many beneficial products [3]. Lignocellulose is one of the most abundant raw material that is composed mainly of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin [4]. On the other hand, glycoside hydrolases including cellulases and xylanases result in the release of monosaccharide units from both cellulose and hemicelluloses. These monosaccharides could be easily converted to many other valuable products [5]. As an example, the cellulases can break the cellulose into hexose sugars that in turn may be converted into ethanol. Also, xylanases can act on the xylan, that is abundant in wood biomass and break it into pentose sugars. Most of the cellulases and xylanases are produced from mesophilic microorganisms which mean that they favour mesophilic ranges (from 40 to 50°C) to act optimally. Nevertheless, thermostable enzymes exibit many advantages for optimum utilization of lignocellulose. Since these enzymes are compatible with the pretreatment procedures that require high temperatures [6], applying these thermostable enzymes will allow the pretreatment process to be more flexible [7]. Moreover, the saccharifications process of pretreated biomass at higher temperatures leads to the acceleration of the conversion process, resulting in shorter incubation periods as well as lowering the enzyme loadings. ARTICLE INFO: Received: 18 Nov 2020 Accepted: 20 Dec 2020 Published: 30 Dec 2020 Corresponding author * Dr Waill A Elkhateeb, Chemistry of Natural and Microbial Products Department, Pharmaceutical Industries Division, National Research Centre, Dokki, Giza, 12622, Egypt. E Mail: waillahmed@yahoo.com