White-rot fungi that are efficient lignin degraders responsible for its turnover in nature have appeared twice in the center of biotechnological research - first, when the lignin degradation process started being systematically investigated and major enzyme activities and mechanisms involved were described, and second, when the huge remediation potential of these organisms was established. Originally, Phanerochaete chrysosporium became a model organism, characterized by a secondary metabolism regulatory pattern triggered by nutrient (mostly nitrogen) limitation. Last decade brought evidence of more varied regulatory patterns in white-rot fungi when ligninolytic enzymes were also abundantly synthesized under conditions of nitrogen sufficiency. Gradually, research was focused on other species, among them Irpex lacteus showing a remarkable pollutant toxicity resistance and biodegradation efficiency. Systematic research has built up knowledge of biochemistry and biotechnological applicability of this fungus, stressing the need to critically summarize and estimate these scattered data. The review attempts to evaluate the information on I. lacteus focusing on various enzyme activities and bioremediation of organopollutants in water and soil environments, with the aim of mediating this knowledge to a broader microbiological audience.

Institute of Microbiology Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic 142 20 Prague

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