Genetic identification of factors for extracellular cellulose accumulation in the thermophilic cyanobacterium Thermosynechococcus vulcanus: proposal of a novel tripartite secretion system

Cells of the thermophilic cyanobacterium Thermosynechococcus vulcanus strain RKN (NIES‐2134) aggregate and produce extracellular cellulose under induced conditions of blue light and low temperature, and both aggregation and cellulose production require the cellulose synthase Tll0007 (XcsA) and photosensory diguanylate cyclases. However, overexpression of both the cellulose synthase and a constitutively active diguanylate cyclase was not sufficient to induce cellulose‐mediated cell aggregation under normal growth conditions. Synteny analysis and gene knockout revealed that two putative genes, hlyD‐like tlr0903 (xcsB) and endoglucanase‐like tlr1902 (xcsC), are linked to tll0007, although they are located apart from tll0007 in the T. vulcanus genome. Gene knockdown revealed that tlr1605 (tolC) was essential for the cellulose‐mediated cell aggregation. Low temperature induced marked upregulation of tlr0903, and overexpression of both tlr0903 (but not tlr1902) and diguanylate cyclase resulted in the strong cell aggregation and cellulose accumulation under normal conditions. Based on these and phylogenetic analysis, we propose that the cyanobacterial extracellular cellulose production is due to a novel variant of the bacterial tripartite secretion system.     

Differential Involvement of β-Glucosidases from Hypocrea jecorina in Rapid Induction of Cellulase Genes by Cellulose and Cellobiose

Appropriate perception of cellulose outside the cell by transforming it into an intracellular signal ensures the rapid production of cellulases by cellulolytic Hypocrea jecorina. The major extracellular β-glucosidase BglI (CEL3a) has been shown to contribute to the efficient induction of cellulase genes. Multiple β-glucosidases belonging to glycosyl hydrolase (GH) family 3 and 1, however, exist in H. jecorina. Here we demonstrated that CEL1b, like CEL1a, was an intracellular β-glucosidase displaying in vitro transglycosylation activity. We then found evidence that these two major intracellular β-glucosidases were involved in the rapid induction of cellulase genes by insoluble cellulose. Deletion of cel1a and cel1b significantly compromised the efficient gene expression of the major cellulase gene, cbh1. Simultaneous absence of BglI, CEL1a, and CEL1b caused the induction of the cellulase gene by cellulose to further deteriorate. The induction defect, however, was not observed with cellobiose. The absence of the three β-glucosidases, rather, facilitated the induced synthesis of cellulase on cellobiose. Furthermore, addition of cellobiose restored the productive induction on cellulose in the deletion strains. The results indicate that the three β-glucosidases may not participate in transforming cellobiose beyond hydrolysis to provoke cellulase formation in H. jecorina. They may otherwise contribute to the accumulation of cellobiose from cellulose as inducing signals.     

Cellulase biosynthesis during degradation of cellulose derivatives by Thermomonospora curvata

A variety of commercially used cellulose derivatives were compared with crystalline cellulose as substrates for induction of cellulase biosynthesis in the actinomycete Thermomonospora curvata. Cellulase induction during growth on uncoated cellophane was as rapid as that on crystalline cellulose, but on coated cellophanes, induction was delayed. Susceptibility to enzymatic attack determined the inductive potential of the substrate. Cellulose acetate was a poor substrate because of its extreme recalcitrance to attack. With other cellulose derivatives, soluble sugar accumulation caused a transient repression of cellulase biosynthesis, but the ratio of cellobiose (a cellulase inducer) to glucose (a cellulase repressor) was not a controlling factor. Crystalline cellulose yielded the lowest inducer/repressor sugar ratio (1.1:1 compared to 3.8–4.0:1 for cellulose derivatives), but supported the highest cellulase production. Glucose could not repress cellulase biosynthesis in the presence of cellobiose due to the strong preference for uptake of the disaccharide even by glucose-grown cells.     

Derepressed synthesis of cellulase by Cellulomonas.

A Cellulomonas sp. was isolated from the soil which hydrolyzed cellulose, as shown by clear-zone formation on cellulose agar medium. Catabolite repression of cellulase synthesis occurred when moderate levels of glucose were added to the medium. A stable mutant that no longer exhibits catabolite repression was produced through treatment of the wild-type organism with N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine. Both enzyme concentration and specific activity, as determined by the rate of hydrolysis of carboxymethylcellulose, were greater with the mutant than with the wild-type organism under various test conditions. The wild type had no measurable cellulase activity when grown in the presence of either 1.0% glucose or cellobiose. Cellobiose, but not glucose, inhibited enzyme activity towards both cellulose and carboxymethylcellulose. Cellobiose, cellulose, and sophorose at low concentrations induced cellulase synthesis in both the wild-type and the mutant organism. Cellulase regulation appears to depend upon a complex relationship involving catabolite repression, inhibition, and induction.     

Screening of cellulases for biofuel production: online monitoring of the enzymatic hydrolysis of insoluble cellulose using high-throughput scattered light detection

A new prospective cellulase assay simultaneously combining high-throughput, online analysis and insoluble cellulosic substrates is described. The hydrolysis of three different insoluble cellulosic substrates, catalysed by a commercial cellulase preparation from Trichoderma reesei (Celluclast), was monitored using the BioLector - allowing online monitoring of scattered light intensities in a continuously shaken microtiter plate. Cellulase activities could be quantitatively assayed using the BioLector. At low cellulase/cellulose ratios, the Michaelis-Menten parameters of the cellulase mixture were mainly affected by the crystallinity index of the cellulose. Here, the apparent maximum cellulase activities inversely correlated with the crystallinity index of the cellulose. At high cellulase/cellulose ratios the particle size of the cellulose, defining the external surface area accessible to the cellulases, was the key determining factor for cellulase activity. The developed technique was also successfully applied to evaluate the pH optimum of cellulases. Moreover, the non-hydrolytic deagglomeration of cellulose particles was investigated, for the first time, using high-throughput scattered light detection. In conclusion, this cellulase assay ideally links high-throughput, online analysis and realistic insoluble cellulosic substrates in one simple system. It will considerably simplify and accelerate fundamental research on cellulase screening.     

Purification and characterization of the 16-kDa heat-shock-responsive protein from the thermophilic cyanobacterium Synechococcus vulcanus, which is an alpha-crystallin-related, small heat shock protein.

A 16-kDa protein, one of the major proteins that accumulates upon heat-shock treatment in the thermophilic cyanobacterium Synechococcus vulcanus, was purified to apparent homogeneity. The N-terminal and internal amino acid sequences of the protein exhibited a homology to the alpha-crystallin-related, small heat shock proteins from other organisms. The protein was designated HspA. Size-exclusion chromatography and nondenaturing gel electrophoresis demonstrated that HspA formed a large homo-oligomer consisting of 24 subunits. It prevented the aggregation of porcine malic dehydrogenase at 45 degrees C and 50 degrees C and citrate synthase at 50 degrees C. The activity of the malic dehydrogenase, however, was not protected under these heat-shock conditions or reactivated after a shift in temperature from 45 or 50 degrees C to 21 degrees C. HspA was able to enhance the refolding of chemically denatured rabbit muscle lactate dehydrogenase in an ATP-independent manner. A homologue to the 16-kDa protein was also found to be induced upon heat-shock treatment in the mesophilic cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803.     

Induction of Cellulases in chaetomium cellulolyticum by cellobiose

The production of extracellular cellulases by Chaetomium cellulolyticum could be induced by slow feeding of cellobiose to the cultures. Both the rate of production and the amount of activity were comparable to that obtained in batch cultivation on cellulose. The specific filter paper activity of 2.06 U per mg protein was almost two times higher than that obtained in cellulose medium. Cellulases were not induced when glucose was slowly fed to the cultures. Changing the feed stream from glucose to cellobiose resulted in a rapid accumulation of cellulases. Thus cellobiose has a similar role in cellulase induction in C. cellulolyticum, as earlier shown for Trichoderma reesei.     

Yersinia kristensenii: A new species of enterobacteriaceae composed of sucrose-negative strains (formerly called atypicalYersinia enterocolitica orYersinia enterocolitica-Like)

Induction of cellulase was observed inFusarium sp. with reduction in lag period by lactose-pregrown cells as compared with glucose-pregrown cells. Insoluble cellulose (Sigmacell) induced maximum cellulase production in the induction medium. Supplementation of the culture growing on cellulose by cellobiose or glucose resulted in increased cellular growth and decreased cellulase production. Stepfeeding of cellobiose to the culture growting on carboxymethyl cellulose resulted in decreased cellulase production. Significant cellulase activity was detected in the culture filtrate of cells growing on Sigmacell supplemented with glucose, only when the glucose disappeared from the medium. This suggests that cellulase production may in part be regulated by catabolite repression.     

里氏木霉不同糖苷水解酶基因转录水平比较分析

以前期里氏木霉RNA-seq中发现的7个糖苷水解酶基因为对象,分析其不同条件下的表达特性,以期为寻找新的纤维素降解功能酶提供证据。运用生物信息学方法,分析了7个基因可能的编码产物和结构特征。以不同的产纤维素酶菌株（QM 9414、RUT C30）为材料,采用实时荧光定量PCR,对7个糖苷水解酶基因（编号4–10）在各种碳源条件下转录情况与主要的3个纤维素酶基因cbh1,cbh2,egl1（编号1–3）进行了比较分析。信息学分析表明,7个基因编码蛋白分属于GH47（4号、5号）,GH92（6–8号）,GH16（9号）,GH31（10号）糖苷水解酶家族,具有典型的信号肽序列。cbh1,cbh2,egl1基因在纤维素酶诱导条件下,转录水平均表现显著的增加,上调倍数以QM 9414菌株表现的最高。QM 9414菌株中,cbh1,cbh2,egl1基因在纤维素条件下的上调倍数显著高于乳糖,3个基因在RUT C30菌株中的转录水平则显示乳糖条件下上调幅度更大。7个糖苷水解酶基因也存在类似的情况,而且编码α-甘露糖苷酶和内切β-葡聚糖酶的8号、9号基因上调倍数在纤维素酶诱导条件下仅次于纤维素酶基因,而以甘油为碳源条件下,8号、9号基因上调倍数高于纤维素酶基因。4号基因在上述碳源条件下,转录水平变化不大。结果表明：4号基因可能是组成型表达。基因5、6、7、8、9、10的表达呈现明显的菌株和碳源依赖性,且在纤维素酶诱导条件下基本上是和3个纤维素酶基因共转录的。     

低温产纤维素酶菌株的筛选、鉴定及纤维素酶学性质

[目的]筛选一株低温产纤维素酶菌株并进行鉴定,初步探索其酶学性质,为微生物肥料生产筛选菌种资源.[方法]常温条件下,采用CMC-刚果红染色法初筛纤维素降解菌株.采用低温条件诱导的方法,筛选耐低温且产纤维素酶能力最强的菌株,经形态学、生理生化特征试验、ITS序列等方面分析系统分类地位.单因素试验确定温度、pH及金属离子对纤维素酶活力的影响.[结果]从秸秆还田土壤中分离出一株在13℃低温环境下高效分解纤维素的真菌M11,鉴定M11为草酸青霉(Penicillium oxalicum).发酵试验表明:以玉米秸秆粉为唯一碳氮源,13℃、200 r/min摇床发酵培养9d时,纤维素酶活力最高为33.08 U/mL.对其酶学性质初步研究表明:该酶最适pH为5.0,最适反应温度为20℃,在5℃-20℃间酶活力仍能保持在90％以上.[结论]Penicillium oxalicum M11是一株高效的纤维素降解菌株,在低温条件下可分泌纤维素酶且活性显著,具有潜在的开发价值.     

Production of cellulases by Thermomonospora sp.

Glucose, cellulose, Avicel, and Solka Floc were utilized as substrates for growth of Thermomonospora sp in order to study the induction–repression characteristics of its associated cellulase system. While glucose proved to be an effective repressor of the cellulase enzymes, the other three substrates induced relatively high levels of enzyme activity as measured by the filter paper assay. On a unit cell mass basis the highest values of cellulase activity were obtained when Avicel was utilized as the carbon and energy source. The nature of the cellulosic material and its initial concentration were identified as two very important parameters of the induction process.     

Major characteristics of the cellulolytic system of Clostridium thermocellum coincide with those of the purified cellulosome

The properties of the cellulosome (a cellulose-binding, multiple cellulase-containing protein complex isolated from Clostridium thermocellum) have been compared with the previously reported characteristics for crude cellulase [see 1,4-(1,3;1,4)-β-d-glucan 4-glucanohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.4] preparations. Similar to the crude enzyme system, true cellulolytic activity was demonstrated for the purified cellulosome on the basis of extensive solubilization of microcrystalline cellulose. The cellulolytic activity of the purified cellulosome was enhanced both by calcium ions and by thiols, and was inhibited by cellobiose (the major end product of the cellulosome-mediated cellulose degradation). In addition, at low ionic strength, cellulose-adsorbed cellulosome was detached intact from the cellulose matrix. Using controlled conditions, maximum enzymatic activity was shown to correspond to suboptimal conditions of cellulosome adsorption to cellulose. The results suggest that previous data accumulated for the crude cellulase system in C. thermocellum essentially reflect the contribution of the cellulosome.     

Evaluation of nanoparticle-immobilized cellulase for improved ethanol yield in simultaneous saccharification and fermentation reactions

Ethanol yields were 2.1 (P = 0.06) to 2.3 (P = 0.01) times higher in simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) reactions of microcrystalline cellulose when cellulase was physisorbed on silica nanoparticles compared to enzyme in solution. In SSF reactions, cellulose is hydrolyzed to glucose by cellulase while yeast simultaneously ferments glucose to ethanol. The 35°C temperature and the presence of ethanol in SSF reactions are not optimal conditions for cellulase. Immobilization onto solid supports can stabilize the enzyme and promote activity at non-optimum reaction conditions. Mock SSF reactions that did not contain yeast were used to measure saccharification products and identify the mechanism for the improved ethanol yield using immobilized cellulase. Cellulase adsorbed to 40 nm silica nanoparticles produced 1.6 times (P = 0.01) more glucose than cellulase in solution in 96 h at pH 4.8 and 35°C. There was no significant accumulation (<250 μg) of soluble cellooligomers in either the solution or immobilized enzyme reactions. This suggests that the mechanism for the immobilized enzyme's improved glucose yield compared to solution enzyme is the increased conversion of insoluble cellulose hydrolysis products to soluble cellooligomers at 35°C and in the presence of ethanol. The results show that silica-immobilized cellulase can be used to produce increased ethanol yields in the conversion of lignocellulosic materials by SSF.     

Genotypic differences in some physiological characteristics during cotton fiber thickening and its influence on fiber strength

Cotton (Gossypium L.) fiber strength is linked with many complex physiological and biochemical processes in the stage of secondary fiber cell wall thickening. With the aim of further exploiting of the relationship between fiber strength and genotypic differences in physiological characteristics, the experiment was implemented in Nanjing, China (in the lower reach of Yangtze River Valley in China) at the stage of cotton fiber thickening stage in 2004–2005. The result showed that the higher strength fiber (genotype Kemian 1) always had higher activities of sucrose synthetase (SuSy) and β-1,3-glucan synthase, and more sucrose and callose existed and transformed for cellulose synthesis than these of the other genotypes during the fiber secondary wall thickening period These resulted in a longer and more gently cellulose accumulation and wider range and longer period of fiber strength enhancing. Interestingly, the opposite effects were observed in lower strength fiber of Dexiamian 1 and intermediary indices were found in NuCOTN 33B with middle strength fiber. Taken together, above results suggested the variations in the transformation of sucrose and callose contents, and the dynamics of sucrose synthase and β-1,3-glucan synthase activities, might be one of the physiological reasons causing the differences in the speed of cellulose accumulation and fiber strength formation. Additionally, other results showed: (1) the occurrence of callose content peak might be an important sign of the onset of the secondary wall thickening in the fiber cell; (2) the duration and the maximum growth rate of cellulose rapid accumulation contribute more to fiber strength development than other indices of cellulose rapid accumulation.     

里氏木霉中纤维素酶的合成诱导及调控*

随着绿色化学的兴起,天然纤维素原料转化和利用的研究受到了高度重视和广泛应用。利用纤维素酶降解纤维素为燃料乙醇、生物柴油的生产铺设了道路。但纤维素酶的生产成本较高,限制了纤维素酶产业化应用。里氏木霉生产的纤维素酶组分丰富,是纤维素酶高产菌株,深入研究里氏木霉的纤维素酶诱导及表达调控机制,有助于提高其纤维素酶产率。近年来人们对里氏木霉的纤维素酶诱导过程和调控机制有了一定研究进展,综述了里氏木霉纤维素酶诱导和基因表达调控,首先介绍了纤维素、纤维二糖、槐糖、乳糖等几种诱导物及诱导物的转运蛋白,进一步综述了几种转录因子的调控作用,同时介绍了染色体调控、信号通路和光条件对纤维素酶诱导的影响。最后展望了未来里氏木霉纤维素酶诱导表达的研究方向,包括探明诱导物的本质及其具体过程、揭示转录因子之间的联系及转录调控网络、寻找信号转导关键功能蛋白及研究环境因素对纤维素酶的诱导作用等。     

Cell surface changes in Thermomonospora curvata during cellulase induction and repression

Cellulosomes are cell surface protuberances which contain cellulases functional in substrate adherence and hydrolysis. The mycelia of Thermomonospora curvata , which adhere to and grow on native cellulose fibres, formed cellulosomal structures during cellulase induction, but did not when cellulase biosynthesis was repressed. Cell-bound enzyme accounted for about 5% of total culture cellulase activity.     

Induction of cellulolytic enzymes in Trichoderma reesei by sophorose.

Sophorose (2-O-beta-glucopyranosyl-D-glucose) induces carboxymethyl cellulase in Trichoderma reesei QM6a mycelium with 1.5 to 2 h. The induction response to sophorose concentration, although complicated by the metabolism of sophorose, shows saturation kinetics. Most of the cellulase appears after most of the sophorose has been taken up, but the presence of an inducer is required to maintain cellulase synthesis because enzyme production ceases after separation of the mycelium from the induction medium. Cellulase appears simultaneously in the medium and in the mycelium, and no appreciable levels accumulate in the mycelium. Response to pH suggest either that synthesis and secretion of the enzyme are closely associated or concurrent events affected by surface interactions with the medium. Effects of temperature and pH on cellulase induction by sophorose are similar to those reported for induction by cellulose. The kinetics of absorption by mycelium differs from that of other beta-linked saccharides and glucose, the uptake of sophorose being much slower. Under our cultural conditions, sophorose appears to induce an incomplete array of cellulase enzymes, as indicated by enzymatic and electrophoretic studies.