Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus) are useful for utilizing lignocellulosic biomass.
This review shows the biotechnological potential of oyster mushrooms with lignocellulosic biomass. The bioprocessing of plant byproducts using Pleurotus species provides numerous value added products, such as basidiocarps, animal feed, enzymes, and other useful materials. The biodegradation and bioconversion of agro wastes (lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose) could have vital implication in cleaning our environment. The bioprocessing of lignin depends on the potent lignocellulolytic enzymes such as phenol oxidases (laccase) or heme peroxidases (lignin peroxidase (LiP) manganese peroxidase (MnP) and versatile peroxidase) produced by the organism. The cellulose hydrolysing enzymes (that is, cellulases) basically divided into endo b 1,4 glucanase exo b 1,4 glucanase I and II, and b glucosidase, they attack cellulose to release glucose, a monomers units from the cellobiose, while several enzymes acted on hemicellulose to give D xylose from xylobiose. These enzymes have been produced by species of Pleurotus from lignocellulose and can also be used in several biotechnological applications, including detoxification, bioconversion, and bioremediation of resistant pollutants. Key words: Oyster mushroom, lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose.