Phanerochaete chrysosporium has become the standard laboratory fungus for investigation of physiology and chemistry of lignin degradation due to its good ligninolytic properties, fast growth and easy handling in culture. The main components of its lignin degrading enzymatic system are two families of extracellular glycosylated hemoperoxidases known as lignin peroxidase (LiP) and manganese-dependent peroxidase (MnP) and a generating system of H2O2. Up to date, most studies on lignin biodegradation have been carried out using liquid culture conditions, which, however, might not reflect the situation occurring in natural environment, i. e. in wood and other lignocellulosic substrates. Solid state fermentation(SSF) was preferred here for the production of ligninolytic enzymes because it stimulates the natural conditions of white rot fungi. SSF is defined as the growth of microorganisms on solid materials in the absence of near-absence of free water. Therefore, the systems used in this work are defined as semi-solid cultures because they present some free water.
