生物质多糖的高效降解与降解酶（系）的精确定制

自然界中多糖类生物质资源十分丰富,然而其复杂的抗降解屏障限制了生物转化的进程.近年来,随着生物质多糖结构的快速解析以及大量多糖降解酶的鉴定研究,针对不同底物结构或产物需求,仿制高效微生物多糖代谢途径,精确定制多糖降解酶系,促进生物质高效转化已成为可能.本文分析中性多糖(纤维素和木聚糖)、碱性多糖(几丁质和壳聚糖)以及酸性多糖(褐藻胶)的精细结构组成与基团性质,总结3类多糖主要降解酶的活性架构特征及其底物精确结合模式.文章还阐述蛋白质工程设计与定制策略,针对酶分子不同功能区的分析,可为酶分子的功能快速设计与改造提供靶点,以获得适宜于工业应用的高效酶分子,此外,根据微生物胞外降解酶系的降解次序与协同关系,可基于应用需求精确定制复杂多糖降解酶系,实现生物质的高效与高值降解转化.     

微生物木聚糖降解酶系统

木聚糖类半纤维素是产量仅次于纤维素的植物多糖 ,其结构要比纤维素复杂得多 ,完全降解木聚糖 ,实现植物残体的生物转化需要多种水解酶 (即木聚糖降解酶系统 )的协同作用。木聚糖酶在食品、饲料、纺织、能源工业 ,特别是在纸浆和造纸工业中有着广阔的应用前景 ,如人们将极端嗜热和嗜碱菌的木聚糖酶基因克隆到现有工程菌中生产工业用酶 ,用于纸浆的生物漂白和饲料加工。但是木聚糖资源的开发利用要求完整的酶系统。人们通过对具有木聚糖降解酶系统微生物的研究 ,运用基因工程技术将其构建成发酵工程菌 ,直接利用半纤维素生产单细胞蛋白 ;或者…     

木聚糖降解酶系基因代谢调控研究进展

木聚糖是半纤维素的主要组成部分,是一类数量很大的再生生物资源,工业利用前景广阔。木聚糖降解需要多种酶的参与,主要有木聚糖酶、木糖苷酶、α-葡萄糖醛酸酶、乙酰木聚糖酯酶、阿拉伯糖酶、阿魏酸酯酶、p-香豆酸酯酶等。主要综述了木聚糖降解酶系基因代谢调控的研究进展,主要包括转录激活因子XlnR、抑制蛋白CreA、不同诱导物、pH值、HAP-CCAAT复合物等对木聚糖降解酶系基因表达的影响,最后探讨了木聚糖降解酶系基因代谢调控存在的问题,并对今后的研究进行了展望。     

植物细胞壁多糖合成酶系及真菌降解酶系北大核心CSCD

秸秆类植物细胞壁多糖高效降解转化对我国农业经济的绿色可持续发展具有重要意义,然而植物细胞壁在长期进化过程中形成了复杂结构限制了工业化酶解转化的过程。一方面从植物细胞壁多糖合成酶系的多样性、细胞壁多糖成分的复杂性、超分子结构的异质性等方面综述了形成植物细胞壁抗降解屏障的原因;另一方面从真菌降解植物细胞壁酶系的多样性、不同菌株降解酶组成差异性等分析降解转化植物细胞壁时发挥的不同作用,从而为工业转化合理复配真菌降解酶系,提高秸秆生物质的利用效率提供理论支持。     

海洋褐藻多糖的复杂结构、降解酶系以及生物学功能

海洋大型藻类(包括褐藻、红藻和绿藻)具有生物质资源产量高、生长过程中不占用耕地和淡水资源等优点,是未来生物炼制的优良原料。2021年,中国褐藻产量为190万吨,远高于其他经济藻类。但是与绿藻相比,褐藻所含的褐藻酸盐和红藻所含的3,6-脱水-L-半乳糖等多糖组分不容易发酵,极大地限制了其高值转化的进程。本文针对褐藻多糖的高效降解与高值转化这一研究热点,总结了褐藻的系统发育与褐藻多糖(褐藻胶、岩藻多糖以及昆布多糖)的复杂结构组成,分析了3类海洋多糖降解酶系的家族、空间结构及其特异性识别专一底物的活性架构等特征,并对褐藻多糖降解产物及其衍生寡糖的生物学功能进行了构效分析,以期揭示海洋多糖降解酶系的高效催化机制和特异性识别机理,推动褐藻的高效生物降解转化,为精准定制生物活性寡糖,构建绿色低碳工业化生产工艺提供参考。     

木聚糖降解酶系统

介绍了木聚糖降解酶系统的的多种组成成分,各个酶的生物化学特性,并着重介绍了木聚糖降解酶系统中的主要酶──木聚糖酶的结构、基因特征及其代谢调控机理。     

微生物木聚糖酶的研究进展及其在食品领域的应用

木聚糖是半纤维素的主要组成成分,也是自然界第二丰富的可再生资源。木聚糖的结构稳定、组成复杂,很难在自然条件下自我降解,只有通过多种酶组成的木聚糖酶系的协同作用才可以更好地水解木聚糖或含有木聚糖的底物。木聚糖酶系主要由微生物产生,不同来源的木聚糖酶的性质存在较大差异。介绍了木聚糖水解酶系的组成和作用机理,木聚糖酶的分类和酶学性质,并对木聚糖酶在食品领域的应用进行了综述。     

乙酰木聚糖酯酶研究进展

半纤维素是一类丰富可再生而又亟待开发利用的生物质资源,将半纤维素降解为糖类进而生产木糖醇及其它化学品是利用生物质资源的关键一步。乙酰木聚糖酯酶是降解半纤维素的一个重要酶,它能够水解乙酰化木聚糖中的木糖残基上的2位和3位的O 乙酰基,在工业、农业及食品业具有广阔的应用前景。综述了乙酰木聚糖酯酶的分类、酶学性质、催化机制、基因克隆和协同酶解等方面的研究进展,同时对该研究进行了展望。     

植物细胞壁多糖合成酶系及真菌降解酶系

秸秆类植物细胞壁多糖高效降解转化对我国农业经济的绿色可持续发展具有重要意义,然而植物细胞壁在长期进化过程中形成了复杂结构限制了工业化酶解转化的过程。一方面从植物细胞壁多糖合成酶系的多样性、细胞壁多糖成分的复杂性、超分子结构的异质性等方面综述了形成植物细胞壁抗降解屏障的原因;另一方面从真菌降解植物细胞壁酶系的多样性、不同菌株降解酶组成差异性等分析降解转化植物细胞壁时发挥的不同作用,从而为工业转化合理复配真菌降解酶系,提高秸秆生物质的利用效率提供理论支持。     

嗜热厌氧细菌Caldicellulosiruptor bescii降解木质纤维素研究进展

嗜热厌氧菌Caldicellulosiruptor bescii具有强大的木质纤维素降解能力,能以多种模式植物细胞壁多糖如微晶纤维素Avicel和木聚糖,甚至未经预处理的木质纤维素如柳枝稷作为唯一碳源快速生长,该菌还具有少见的厌氧降解木质素的能力。对基因组注释发现,该菌所编码的蛋白大多为多结构域双功能酶,即在多肽链的N端和C端分别是不同家族的糖苷水解酶,间隔以2-3个碳水化合物结合结构域。该菌降解纤维素相关的酶基因多集中于一个植物细胞壁多糖降解利用的基因簇,例如纤维素酶/木聚糖酶、纤维素酶/甘露聚糖酶和纤维素酶/木葡聚糖酶等。C.bescii的木聚糖酶主要属于GH10家族,该家族的酶底物特异性较为宽泛,氨基酸序列的同源性在18.7%-59.5%间。Caldicellulosiruptor属细菌进化出了一系列的机制使得糖苷水解酶和底物、细菌和木质纤维素能更好的吸附在一起,从而有利于木质纤维素的酶解。C.bescii有12个含SLH结构域的蛋白,以及新发现的黏附蛋白Tāpirin,可能参与了木质纤维素的吸附与利用。综述了近年来对C.bescii降解植物细胞壁的糖苷水解酶的基因资源挖掘方面和降解分子机制方面的研究进展,对高效、多功能高效木质纤维素降解酶的设计和优化具有积极的意义。     

Screening for distinct xylan degrading enzymes in complex shake flask fermentation supernatants

The efficient degradation of complex xylans needs collaboration of many xylan degrading enzymes. Assays for xylan degrading activities based on reducing sugars or PNP substrates are not indicative for the presence of enzymes able to degrade complex xylans: They do not provide insight into the possible presence of xylanase-accessory enzymes within enzyme mixtures. A new screening method is described, by which specific xylan modifying enzymes can be detected.Fermentation supernatants of 78 different fungal soil isolates grown on wheat straw were analyzed by HPLC and MS. This strategy is powerful in recognizing xylanases, arabinoxylan hydrolases, acetyl xylan esterases and glucuronidases.No fungus produced all enzymes necessary to totally degrade the substrates tested. Some fungi produce high levels of xylanase active against linear xylan, but are unable to degrade complex xylans. Other fungi producing relative low levels of xylanase secrete many useful accessory enzyme component(s).     

Evaluation of the xylan breakdown potential of eight mesophilic endoxylanases

In biomass degradation using simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF), there is a need for efficient biomass degrading enzymes that can work at lower temperatures suitable for yeast fermentation. As xylan is an important lignocellulosic biomass constituent, this study aimed at investigating the possible differences in xylan breakdown potential of endoxylanases using eight different endoxylanases at conditions relevant for SSF. Both solubilising and degrading capacities of the endoxylanases were investigated using water-insoluble and water-soluble oat spelt xylan as model substrates for biomass xylan. Results showed that selecting for combinations of endoxylanases that are efficient at solubilising xylan on the one hand and degrading it to large extent on the other hand, coupled to high specific activities, seems the best option for complete xylan breakdown in lignocellulosic biomass conversion using SSF.     

Cooperation of Aspergillus nidulans enzymes increases plant polysaccharide saccharification

Efficient polysaccharide degradation depends on interaction between enzymes acting on the main chain and the side chains. Previous studies demonstrated cooperation between several enzymes, but not all enzyme combinations have been explored. A better understanding of enzyme cooperation would enable the design of better enzyme mixtures, optimally profiting from synergistic effects. In this study, we analyzed the cooperation of several enzymes involved in the degradation of xylan, glucan, xyloglucan and crude plant biomass from Aspergillus nidulans by single and combined incubations with their polymeric substrate. Positive effects were observed between most enzymes, although not always to the same extent. Moreover, the tailor made cocktails formulated in this study resulted in efficient release of glucose from plant biomass. This study also serves as an example for the complex cooperation that occurs between enzymes in plant biomass saccharification and how expression in easily‐accessible hosts, such as Pichia pastoris, can help in revealing these effects.     

Carbohydrate esterase family 4 enzymes: substrate specificity

The substrate specificity of selected enzymes classified under Carbohydrate Esterase family 4 (CE4) has been examined. Chitin deacetylase from Mucor rouxii and both a native and a truncated form of acetyl xylan esterase from Streptomyces lividans were found to be active on both xylan and several soluble chitinous substrates. Furthermore, the activities of all enzymes examined were significantly increased in the presence of Co(2+) when chitinous substrates were employed. However, the presence of this metal ion did not result in enhancing the activities of the enzymes when xylan was used as substrate. An acetyl xylan esterase from Bacillus pumilus, classified under Carbohydrate Esterase family 7, was found to be inactive towards all chitinous substrates tested. Finally, all enzymes examined were inactive towards cell wall peptidoglycan.     

Effects of xylan and starch on secretome of the basidiomycete Phanerochaete chrysosporium grown on cellulose

Lignocellulosic biomass contains cellulose and xylan as major structural components, and starch as a storage polysaccharide. In the present study, we have used comparative secretomic analysis to examine the effects of xylan and starch on the expression level of proteins secreted by the basidiomycete Phanerochaete chrysosporium grown on cellulose,. Forty-seven spots of extracellular proteins expressed by P. chrysosporium separated by two-dimensional electrophoresis were identified by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis. Addition of starch to the cellulolytic culture did not affect fungal growth significantly, but did decrease the production of total extracellular enzymes, including cellulases and xylanases. In contrast, addition of xylan increased mycelial volume and the production of extracellular proteins. Xylan increased synthesis of several glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 10 putative endoxylanases and a putative glucuronoyl esterase belonging to carbohydrate esterase family 15, for which plant cell wall xylan may be a substrate. Moreover, cellobiose dehydrogenase and GH family 61 proteins, which are known to promote cellulose degradation, were also increased in the presence of xylan. These enzymes may contribute to degradation by the fungus of not only cellulose but also complex carbohydrate components of the plant cell wall.     

Development of a chimeric hemicellulase to enhance the xylose production and thermotolerance

Xylan is an abundant plant cell wall polysaccharide and its reduction to xylose units for subsequent biotechnological applications requires a combination of distinct hemicellulases and auxiliary enzymes, mainly endo-xylanases and ß-xylosidases. In the present work, a bifunctional enzyme consisting of a GH11 endo-1,4-β-xylanase fused to a GH43 β-xylosidase, both from Bacillus subtilis, was designed taking into account the quaternary arrangement and accessibility to the substrate. The parental enzymes and the resulting chimera were successfully expressed in Escherichia coli, purified and characterized. Interestingly, the substrate cleavage rate was altered by the molecular fusion improving at least 3-fold the xylose production using specific substrates as beechwood xylan and hemicelluloses from pretreated biomass. Moreover, the chimeric enzyme showed higher thermotolerance with a positive shift of the optimum temperature from 35 to 50 °C for xylosidase activity. This improvement in the thermal stability was also observed by circular dichroism unfolding studies, which seems to be related to a gain of stability of the β-xylosidase domain. These results demonstrate the superior functional and stability properties of the chimeric enzyme in comparison to individual parental domains, suggesting the molecular fusion as a promising strategy for enhancing enzyme cocktails aiming at lignocellulose hydrolysis.     

Modulation of cellulosome composition in Clostridium cellulolyticum: Adaptation to the polysaccharide environment revealed by proteomic and carbohydrate‐active enzyme analyses

Clostridium cellulolyticum is a model mesophilic anaerobic bacterium that efficiently degrades plant cell walls. The recent genome release offers the opportunity to analyse its complete degradation system. A total of 148 putative carbohydrate‐active enzymes were identified, and their modular structures and activities were predicted. Among them, 62 dockerin‐containing proteins bear catalytic modules from numerous carbohydrate‐active enzymes' families and whose diversity reflects the chemical and structural complexity of the plant carbohydrate. The composition of the cellulosomes produced by C. cellulolyticum upon growth on different substrates (cellulose, xylan, and wheat straw) was investigated by LC MS/MS. The majority of the proteins encoded by the cip‐cel operon, essential for cellulose degradation, were detected in all cellulosome preparations. In the presence of wheat straw, the natural and most complex of the substrates studied, additional proteins predicted to be involved in hemicellulose degradation were produced. A 32‐kb gene cluster encodes the majority of these proteins, all harbouring carbohydrate‐binding module 6 or carbohydrate‐binding module 22 xylan‐binding modules along dockerins. This newly identified xyl‐doc gene cluster, specialised in hemicellulose degradation, comes in addition of the cip‐cel operon for plant cell wall degradation. Hydrolysis efficiencies determined on the different substrates corroborates the finding that cellulosome composition is adapted to the growth substrate.     

The complexities of hydrolytic enzymes from the termite digestive system

Abstract

The main challenge in second generation bioethanol production is the efficient breakdown of cellulose to sugar monomers (hydrolysis). Due to the recalcitrant character of cellulose, feedstock pretreatment and adapted hydrolysis steps are needed to obtain fermentable sugar monomers. The conventional industrial production process of second-generation bioethanol from biomass comprises several steps: thermochemical pretreatment, enzymatic hydrolysis and sugar fermentation. This process is undergoing continuous optimization in order to increase the bioethanol yield and reduce the economic cost. Therefore, the discovery of new enzymes with high lignocellulytic activity or new strategies is extremely important. In nature, wood-feeding termites have developed a sophisticated and efficient cellulose degrading system in terms of the rate and extent of cellulose hydrolysis and exploitation. This system, which represents a model for digestive symbiosis has attracted the attention of biofuel researchers. This review describes the termite digestive system, gut symbionts, termite enzyme resources, in vitro studies of isolated enzymes and lignin degradation in termites.     

alpha-L-Arabinofuranosidase from Streptomyces sp. PC22: purification, characterization and its synergistic action with xylanolytic enzymes in the degradation of xylan and agricultural residues

alpha-l-Arabinofuranosidase was purified from culture filtrates of the thermoalkaliphilic Streptomyces sp. PC22 to about 108-fold purity by (NH(4))(2)SO(4) precipitation followed by column chromatography. Its approximate molecular weight was 404kDa, with a subunit mass of approximately 79kDa. The evaluated K(m) and V(max) values with p-nitrophenyl-alpha-l-arabinofuranoside as substrate were 0.23mM and 124 U.mg(-1), respectively. The purified enzyme was optimally active at 65 degrees C and pH 6.0 and showed a mild but significant synergistic effect in combination with other xylanolytic enzymes, including xylanase, beta-xylosidase and acetyl esterase, on the degradation of oat-spelt xylan, corn cob and corn husk substrates with a 1.25, 1.32 and 1.21-fold increase in the amount of reducing sugar released, respectively, compared to the expected (additive) amounts for the individual enzymes acting alone. Sequential reactions using two xylan-backbone degrading enzymes (xylanase/beta-xylosidase) and two debranching enzymes (alpha-l-arabinofuranosidase/acetyl esterase) were also determined. The highest degree of synergy was obtained in sequential reactions with the debranching enzyme digestion preceding the xylan-backbone degrading enzymes.