ReviewApplied microbiology and biotechnology2016
Microbial decomposition of keratin in nature-a new hypothesis of industrial relevance.
Review in Applied microbiology and biotechnology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 101 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
101 citing papers in PubMed, 281 citations in OpenAlex.
- Encapsulation of Protein-Based Drug Carriers for Controlled Loading and Releasing Efficiency: A Review.The protein journal · 2026Review
- First evidence of keratinolytic activity in Simplicillium aogashimaense isolated from wool-pellet-amended soil.Microbial cell factories · 2026Article
- Integrated Transcriptomic and Proteomic Analyses Uncover the Mechanisms of Keratin Degradation inBiology · 2026Article
- Dual Disruption of the Immune Cytokine Spätzle Facilitates Fungal Infection of Diverse Insect Hosts.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Keratinases: microbial sources, mechanisms, and industrial applications in waste valorization.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Review
- Proteolytic and non-proteolytic mechanisms of keratin degradation inApplied and environmental microbiology · 2025Article
- Improved genome assembly of Onygena corvina, a keratin-degrading fungus.BMC research notes · 2025Article
- Efficient Mining and Characterization of Two Novel Keratinases from Metagenomic Database.Biomolecules · 2025Article
- Harnessing Microbial Consortia for Efficient Keratinous Biomass Biotransformation.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Microbial Keratinolysis: Eco-Friendly Valorisation of Keratinous Waste into Functional Peptides.Microorganisms · 2025Review
- A multi-level overview of the hair decomposition process.International journal of legal medicine · 2025Review
- Enhancing spinach growth with a biofertilizer derived from chicken feathers using a keratinolytic bacterial consortium.BMC microbiology · 2025Article
- Keratinous bioresources: their generation, microbial degradation, and value enhancement for biotechnological applications.World journal of microbiology & biotechnology · 2025Review
- Transcriptomic and proteomic insights into feather keratin degradation byFrontiers in microbiology · 2025Article
- Current Understanding of Feather Keratin and Keratinase and Their Applications in Biotechnology.Biochemistry research international · 2025Review
- Comparative genomics of Fervidobacterium: a new phylogenomic landscape of these wide-spread thermophilic anaerobes.BMC genomics · 2024Article
- Article
- Article
- Construction of artificial microbial consortia for efficient degradation of chicken feathers and optimization of degradation conditions.World journal of microbiology & biotechnology · 2024Article
- Article
41 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Discovery of keratin-degrading enzymes from fungi and bacteria has primarily focused on finding one protease with efficient keratinase activity. Recently, an investigation was conducted of all keratinases secreted from a fungus known to grow on keratinaceous materials, such as feather, horn, and hooves. The study demonstrated that a minimum of three keratinases is needed to break down keratin, an endo-acting, an exo-acting, and an oligopeptide-acting keratinase. Further, several studies have documented that disruption of sulfur bridges of the keratin structure acts synergistically with the keratinases to loosen the molecular structure, thus giving the enzymes access to their substrate, the protein structure. With such complexity, it is relevant to compare microbial keratin decomposition with the microbial decomposition of well-studied polymers such as cellulose and chitin. Interestingly, it was recently shown that the specialized enzymes, lytic polysaccharide monoxygenases (LPMOs), shown to be important for breaking the recalcitrance of cellulose and chitin, are also found in keratin-degrading fungi. A holistic view of the complex molecular self-assembling structure of keratin and knowledge about enzymatic and boosting factors needed for keratin breakdown have been used to formulate a hypothesis for mode of action of the LPMOs in keratin decomposition and for a model for degradation of keratin in nature. Testing such hypotheses and models still needs to be done. Even now, the hypothesis can serve as an inspiration for designing industrial processes for keratin decomposition for conversion of unexploited waste streams, chicken feather, and pig bristles into bioaccessible animal feed.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.