Among microbial enzymes, inulinases or fructo-furanosylhydrolases have received considerable attention in the past decade, and as a result, a variety of applications based on enzymatic hydrolysis of inulin have been documented. Inulinases are employed for generation of fructose and inulo-oligosaccharides (IOS) in a single-step reaction with specificity. The high fructose syrup can be biotransformed into value-added products such as ethanol, single cell protein, while IOS are indicated in nutraceutical industry as prebiotic. Myriad microorganisms produce inulinases, and a number of exo- and endo-inulinases have been characterized and expressed in heterologous hosts. Initially, predominated by Aspergilli, Penicillia, and some yeasts (Kluyveromyces spp.), the list of prominent inulinase producers has gradually expanded and now includes extremophilic prokaryotes and marine-derived microorganisms producing robust inulinases. The present paper summarizes important developments about microbial inulinases and their applications made in the last decade.

在微生物酶中，菊粉酶或果糖-呋喃糖基水解酶在过去十年中受到了相当大的关注，结果，已经记录了基于菊粉酶促水解的多种应用。菊粉酶通过特异性一步反应用于果糖和低聚果糖（IOS）的生成。高果糖糖浆可以生物转化为增值产品，例如乙醇，单细胞蛋白，而IOS在保健食品行业中被称为益生元。无数的微生物会产生菊粉酶，并且已经鉴定了许多外切和内切菊糖酶并在异源宿主中表达。最初，主要被曲霉菌，青霉菌和一些酵母菌（克鲁维酵母菌spp。），主要的菊粉酶生产商名单逐渐扩大，现在包括极端微生物的原核生物和产生强大菊粉酶的海洋微生物。本文总结了近十年来有关微生物菊粉酶的重要进展及其应用。