Lignocelullosic material is renewable natural resource, that is used in different technological areas. Difficult degradation of lignin presents an obstacle for utilization of lignocelullosic material. The kingdom of fungi is rich and unexploited source of biotechnologically interesting enzymes, including lignin-degrading enzymes. Main lignin-degrading enzymes are ligninolytic oxidoreductases (laccases, lignin peroxidases, and manganese peroxidases). The aim of this master thesis was to prepare water extracts of 62 fungi from Slovenian forests and using ABTS oxidation test discover potential lignin-degrading enzymes. In certain fungal species we identified desired enzymatic activities, that were not yet described in the literature. We determined the highest enzymatic activities in fungi from the genus Cantharellus, for which we investigated the effect of pH on enzymatic activity in more detail. We found out that laccase, lignin peroxidase and manganese peroxidase have optimum activities in the acidic and neutral pH range.
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