Trametes

A genus of fungi of the class Homobasidiomycetes occurring on wood — the bracket fungi of forest ecosystems. Trametes versicolor (turkey tail) is used in the production of several enzymes for bioremediation processes — notably laccases and catechol oxidases — which oxidize phenolic pollutants, dyes, and lignin-derived compounds. These white-rot enzymes have attracted food-industry interest for applications like juice clarification, cork-taint remediation, and effluent treatment. Trametes exemplifies fungi as enzyme factories: organisms evolved to digest wood now supply the oxidative biocatalysts of green chemistry.