Marine Microorganism: An Underexplored Source of L-Asparaginase

L-Asparaginase (EC 3.5.1.1) is an enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of L-asparagine to L-aspartic acid. This enzyme has an important role in medicine and food. L-Asparaginase is a potential drug in cancer therapy. Furthermore, it is also applied for reducing acrylamide, a carcinogenic compound in baked and fried foods. Until now, approved L-asparaginases for both applications are few due to their lack of appropriate properties. As a result, researchers have been enthusiastically seeking new sources of enzyme with better performance. A great number of terrestrial L-asparaginase-producing microorganisms have been reported but unfortunately, almost all failed to meet criteria for cancer therapy and acrylamide reducing agent. As a largest area than Earth, marine environment, by contrast, has not been optimally explored yet. So far, a great challenge facing an exploration of marine microorganisms is mainly due to their harsh, mysterious, and dangerous environment. It is clear that marine environment, a gigantic potential source for marine natural products is scantily revealed, although several approaches and technologies have been developed. This chapter presents the historical of L-asparaginase discovery and applications. It is also discussed, how the marine environment, even though offering a great potency but is still one of the less explored area for L-asparaginase-producing microorganisms.