Large-Scale Analyses of Glycosylation in Cellulases

Cellulases are important glycosyl hydrolases (GHs) that hydrolyze cellulose polymers into smaller oligosaccharides by breaking the cellulose β (1→4) bonds,and they are widely used to produce cellulosic ethanol from the plant biomass.N-linked and O-linked glycosylations were proposed to impact the catalytic efficiency,cellulose binding affinity and the stability of cellulases based on observations of individual cellulases.As far as we know,there has not been any systematic analysis of the distributions of N-...     

Environmental cDNA analysis of the genes involved in lignocellulose digestion in the symbiotic protist community of Reticulitermes speratus

To clarify the lignocellulolytic process of the lower termite symbiotic protistan system, we constructed a cDNA library from an as yet uncultivated symbiotic protist community of the lower termite Reticulitermes speratus. The library was constructed by the biotinylated CAP trapper method and analyzed by one-pass sequencing. Phylogenetic analysis of actin orthologs confirmed that the resulting library reflected the intact organismal and mRNA composition of the symbiotic system. The contents of the library included abundant numbers of lignocellulolytic genes of the glycosyl hydrolase family orthologs (families 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 26, 43, 45 and 62). Our results clearly indicated that a multiple family of glycosyl hydrolase enzymes was involved in the protistan cellulose degradation system. The data also suggested that the most extensively expressed enzyme was glycosyl hydrolase family 7, a cellobiohydrolase ortholog. This family of enzymes enables the degradation of crystalline cellulose, the principal component of wood biomass.     

Effect of cellulose physical characteristics, especially the water sorption value, on the efficiency of its hydrolysis catalyzed by free or immobilized cellulase

Cellulase, an enzymatic complex that synergically promotes the degradation of cellulose to glucose and cellobiose, free or adsorbed onto Si/SiO₂ wafers at 60 °C has been employed as catalyst in the hydrolysis of microcrystalline cellulose (Avicel), microcrystalline cellulose pre-treated with hot phosphoric acid (CP), cotton cellulose (CC) and eucalyptus cellulose (EC). The physical characteristics such as index of crystallinity (I_C), degree of polymerization (DP) and water sorption values were determined for all samples. The largest conversion rates of cellulose into the above-mentioned products using free cellulase were observed for samples with the largest water sorption values; conversion rates showed no correlation with either I_C or DP of the biopolymer. Cellulose with large water sorption value possesses large pore volumes, hence higher accessibility. The catalytic efficiency of immobilized cellulase could not be correlated with the physical characteristics of cellulose samples. The hydrolysis rates of the same cellulose samples with immobilized cellulase were lower than those by the free enzyme, due to the diffusion barrier (biopolymer chains approaching to the immobilized enzyme) and less effective contact between the enzyme active site and its substrate. Immobilized cellulase, unlike its free counterpart, can be recycled at least six times without loss of catalytic activity, leading to higher overall cellulose conversion.     

The challenge of enzyme cost in the production of lignocellulosic biofuels

With the aim of understanding the contribution of enzymes to the cost of lignocellulosic biofuels, we constructed a techno-economic model for the production of fungal cellulases. We found that the cost of producing enzymes was much higher than that commonly assumed in the literature. For example, the cost contribution of enzymes to ethanol produced by the conversion of corn stover was found to be $0.68/gal if the sugars in the biomass could be converted at maximum theoretical yields, and $1.47/gal if the yields were based on saccharification and fermentation yields that have been previously reported in the scientific literature. We performed a sensitivity analysis to study the effect of feedstock prices and fermentation times on the cost contribution of enzymes to ethanol price. We conclude that a significant effort is still required to lower the contribution of enzymes to biofuel production costs.     

Scale-up and integration of alkaline hydrogen peroxide pretreatment, enzymatic hydrolysis, and ethanolic fermentation

Alkaline hydrogen peroxide (AHP) has several attractive features as a pretreatment in the lignocellulosic biomass‐to‐ethanol pipeline. Here, the feasibility of scaling‐up the AHP process and integrating it with enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation was studied. Corn stover (1 kg) was subjected to AHP pretreatment, hydrolyzed enzymatically, and the resulting sugars fermented to ethanol. The AHP pretreatment was performed at 0.125 g H₂O₂/g biomass, 22°C, and atmospheric pressure for 48 h with periodic pH readjustment. The enzymatic hydrolysis was performed in the same reactor following pH neutralization of the biomass slurry and without washing. After 48 h, glucose and xylose yields were 75% and 71% of the theoretical maximum. Sterility was maintained during pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis without the use of antibiotics. During fermentation using a glucose‐ and xylose‐utilizing strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, all of the Glc and 67% of the Xyl were consumed in 120 h. The final ethanol titer was 13.7 g/L. Treatment of the enzymatic hydrolysate with activated carbon prior to fermentation had little effect on Glc fermentation but markedly improved utilization of Xyl, presumably due to the removal of soluble aromatic inhibitors. The results indicate that AHP is readily scalable and can be integrated with enzyme hydrolysis and fermentation. Compared to other leading pretreatments for lignocellulosic biomass, AHP has potential advantages with regard to capital costs, process simplicity, feedstock handling, and compatibility with enzymatic deconstruction and fermentation. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2012; 109:922–931. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Evaluations of cellulose accessibilities of lignocelluloses by solute exclusion and protein adsorption techniques

Cellulose accessibilities of a set of hornified lignocellulosic substrates derived by drying the never dried pretreated sample and a set of differently pretreated lodgepople pine substrates, were evaluated using solute exclusion and protein adsorption methods. Direct measurements of cellulase adsorption onto cellulose surface of the set of pretreated substrates were also carried out using an in situ UV-Vis spectrophotometric technique. The cellulose accessibilities measured by the solute exclusion and a cellulose-binding module (CBM)-containing green fluorescent protein (TGC) adsorption methods correlate well for both sets of samples. The substrate enzymatic digestibilities (SEDs) of the hornified substrates are proportional to the measured cellulose accessibilities. Approximately over 90% of the SED was contributed by the accessible pore surfaces of the hornified substrates, suggesting that the substrate external surface plays a minor role contributing to cellulose accessibility and SED. The cellulose accessibilities of the pretreated substrates correlated well with the amounts of cellulase adsorbed. The SEDs of these substrates directly correlated with the amounts of adsorbed cellulase.     

大熊猫肠道纤维素分解菌的分离鉴定及产酶性质

【目的】从健康大熊猫新鲜粪便中分离具有纤维素酶活性的菌株,并对其进行菌种鉴定及产酶性质研究。【方法】利用羧甲基纤维素钠培养基分离纯化具有较高纤维素酶活性的菌株,根据形态学特征、生理生化特性以及16S rDNA分析对其进行分类鉴定,研究影响该菌株纤维素酶的产酶条件,以及对不同纤维素底物的降解情况。【结果】分离得到一株纤维素酶产生菌株P2,该菌株为好氧的革兰氏阳性细菌,生长温度范围20-50℃(最适温度37℃),pH范围6.0-9.0(最适pH7.0),NaCl浓度范围0%-15%(最适2%NaCl),培养24h达到产酶高峰。16S rDNA基因序列分析显示,菌株P2与解淀粉芽胞杆菌(Bacillusamyloliquefaciens)NBRC15535相似性为99.66%。该菌株对四种纤维素底物(滤纸、脱脂棉、秸秆、竹纤维)均有不同程度的降解,内切葡聚糖酶、外切葡聚糖酶、β-葡萄糖苷酶和总酶活具有不同的酶活变化。【结论】本研究首次从大熊猫粪便中分离出了好氧纤维素分解菌,并鉴定为解淀粉芽胞杆菌,对上述四种纤维结构均有一定的破坏和分解作用,为进一步研究大熊猫竹纤维消化机制提供了菌源。     

碱与微波联合处理蔗渣对里氏木霉发酵产纤维素酶的影响

以蔗渣为原料,采用碱和微波辐射联合处理后用于里氏木霉纤维素酶的液态发酵。采用单因素试验与正交试验确定了最佳的处理条件为:0.30 mol/L的NaOH溶液浸泡,微波功率160 W,处理5 min。在此条件下得到的单位能耗的酶活净增值最高。后续发酵结束后,酶活较未经处理的蔗渣发酵后所得酶活有显著提高。其中,β-葡萄糖苷酶活、滤纸酶(FPase)活、羧甲基纤维素酶(CMCase)活分别提高了81.3%,88.2%,154.5%。     

纤维素降解菌L-06的筛选、鉴定及其产酶条件的分析

从用于堆肥的水稻秸秆中初筛出一株高效纤维素降解菌L-06, 根据18S rRNA基因序列和菌株形态分析, 初步鉴定该菌为斜卧青霉(Penicillium decumbens)。研究了液体发酵培养基中氮源、碳源、表面活性剂、培养温度、起始pH以及接种量对该菌株各纤维素酶活力的影响。在最适条件下, 该菌的b-葡萄糖苷酶(BGL)、外切纤维素酶(CBH)于培养第3天酶活力分别达到1662 u/mL和2770 u/mL; 内切纤维素酶(EG)、滤纸糖化力(FPase)于培养第4天酶活力分别达到18064 u/mL和4035 u/mL。在产酶优化实验中, 该菌的EG和CBH在pH10的培养条件下分别保持了70%和43%的酶活性; 在50oC培养条件下EG和CBH分别保持了68%和59%的酶活性。表现出了耐热, 耐碱的特性。