Purification, Characterization and Crystallization of Scytalidium thermophilum Xylanase

Xylanases are hydrolytic enzymes responsible for xylan depolymerization. Xylan is the complex polysaccharide of the plant cell wall mainly consisting of D-xylose as the monomeric unit and it is the most abundant non-cellulosic renewable polysaccharide on the earth (Beg et al. 2001, Dhiman et al. 2008). Fungal xylanases are favorable at industrial scale such as animal feed production, manufacture of bread, food and drinks, pharmaceutical and chemical applications, textiles, pulp and paper production (Polizeli et al. 2005). Microbial xylanases are preferred biocatalysts in industry due to their high substrate specificity, mild reaction conditions, conservation of substrate and insignificant side product formation (Kulkarni et al 1999).