Physico-chemical kinetic modelling of hydrolysis of a steam-explosion pre-treated corn stover: A two-step approach

A physico-chemical kinetic model for the hydrolysis of pre-treated corn stover is proposed. This model takes into account two reactions in series, the hydrolysis of cellulose to cellobiose and the production of glucose from cellobiose. Experiments have been carried out with an industrial enzymatic cocktail from Trichoderma reesei containing endo and exoglucanases and a very low activity of β-glucosidase. Kinetic parameters were calculated by fitting the proposed model to experimental data of cellulose and glucose concentrations with time. The kinetic parameters fulfilled all relevant statistical and physical criteria. The kinetic model has been validated with published saccharification data regarding differently pre-treated corn stover and enzymatic cocktail, in this case with a very high β-glucosidase activity (as it is common in modern industrial cellulase cocktails). In both cases, the kinetic model proposed could be fitted very appropriately to cellulose hydrolysis data.

Biochemical and molecular characterization of adult patients with type I Gaucher disease and carrier frequency analysis of Leu444Pro - a common Gaucher disease mutation in India

Background

Gaucher disease is a rare pan-ethnic disorder which occurs due to an increased accumulation of undegraded glycolipid glucocerebroside inside the cells’ lysosomes. A beta-Glucosidase (GBA) gene defect results in glucocerebrosidase enzyme deficiency. Though the disease is mainly diagnosed in childhood, the adult manifestation is often missed or identified late due to the failure to recognize the heterogeneous clinical presentation. The present study includes seven unrelated Indian adult patients (age range: 20–40 years) having splenomegaly, with or without hepatomegaly, cytopenia and bone abnormality.

Methods

The biochemical investigation implicated measuring plasma chitotriosidase enzyme activity followed by confirmatory test of β-Glucosidase enzyme activity from the leukocytes. The molecular characterization involved patients’ initial screening for the common Gaucher mutation (Leu444Pro). Later, all patients were subjected to whole GBA gene coding region study using bidirectional Sanger sequencing. The population screening for common Gaucher disease mutation (Leu444Pro) was executed in 1200 unrelated and healthy Indian subjects by Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism-Polymerase Chain Reaction technique. The allele frequency was calculated using Hardy-Weinberg formula.

Results

The biochemical analysis revealed a significant reduction in the β-Glucosidase activity in all the patients. Also, an elevated level of plasma Chitotriosidase activity in five patients supported their diagnosis of Gaucher disease. Sanger sequencing established four patients with homozygous variation and three patients with compound heterozygous variation in GBA gene. This study uncovers two missense variants (Ala448Thr and Val17Gly) not previously reported in Gaucher disease patients. Also the known mutations like Leu444Pro, Arg329Cys, Asp315Asn, Ser125Arg, and Arg395Cys were identified in these patients. The homology modeling suggested the destabilization of the protein structure due to novel variants. The Leu444Pro mutation screening in the Indian population spotted two people as a carrier. This emerged the carrier frequency of 1:600 along with wild-type allele frequency 0.97113 and mutant allele frequency 0.02887.

Conclusions

The study reports novel and known variants identified in the GBA gene in seven adult patients. The given study is the first report on the carrier frequency of the Leu444Pro mutant allele in an Indian population which will help understanding the burden and susceptibility of Gaucher disease to affect next generation in India.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12881-018-0687-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Purification and characterization of a glucose-tolerant β-glucosidase from black plum seed and its structural changes in ionic liquids

The objective of this study was to characterize a plant origin β-glucosidase from black plum seeds and identify its conformational changes in twenty-six imidazolium- and amino acid-based ionic liquids (ILs). The results revealed that the purified 60 kDa enzyme was monomeric in nature, maximally active at 55 °C and pH 5.0, and nearly completely inhibited by Hg²⁺ and Ag⁺. Attractive peculiarities of the relative low kinetic and higher glucose inhibition constants (K_m = 0.58 mM [pNPG]; K_i = 193.5 mM [glucose]) demonstrated its potential applications in food industry. Circular dichroism studies showed that the secondary structural changes of the enzyme depended not only on the anions, but also on the cations of the assayed ILs. Interestingly, no corresponding relations were observed between the changes in enzyme structure induced by ILs and its catalytic activities, suggesting that the influences of ILs on enzymatic processes don't rely simply on enzyme conformational changes.

Penicillium citrinum UFV1 β-glucosidases: purification, characterization, and application for biomass saccharification

BACKGROUND

β-Glucosidases are components of the cellulase system, a family of enzymes that hydrolyze the β-1,4 linkages of cellulose. These proteins have been extensively studied due to the possibility of their use in various biotechnological processes. They have different affinities for substrates (depending on their source) and their activities can be used for saccharification of different types of biomass. In this context, the properties and the synergistic capacity of β-glucosidases from different organisms, to supplement the available commercial cellulase cocktails, need a comprehensive evaluation.

RESULTS

Two β-glucosidases belonging to GH3 family were secreted by Penicillium citrinum UFV. PcβGlu1 (241 kDa) and PcβGlu2 (95 kDa) presented acidic and thermo-tolerant characteristics. PcβGlu1 showed Michaelis-Menten kinetics for all substrates tested with K_m values ranging from 0.09 ± 0.01 (laminarin) to 1.7 ± 0.1 mM (cellobiose, C2) and k_cat values ranging from 0.143 ± 0.005 (laminarin) to 8.0 ± 0.2 s^-1 (laminaribiose, Lb). PcβGlu2 showed substrate inhibition for 4-methylumbelliferyl-β-d-glucopyranoside (MUβGlu), p-nitrophenyl-β-d-glucopyranoside (pNPβGlu), cellodextrins (C3, C4, and C5), N-octil-β-d-glucopyranoside, and laminaribiose, with K_m values ranging from 0.014 ± 0.001 (MUβGlu) to 0.64 ± 0.06 mM (C2) and k_cat values ranging from 0.49 ± 0.01 (gentiobiose) to 1.5 ± 0.2 s^-1 (C4). Inhibition constants (K_i) for PcβGlu2 substrate inhibition ranged from 0.69 ± 0.07 (MUβGlu) to 10 ± 1 mM (Lb). Glucose and cellobiose are competitive inhibitors of PcβGlu1 and PcβGlu2 when pNPβGlu is used as a substrate. For PcβGlu1 inhibition, K_i = 1.89 ± 0.08 mM (glucose) and K_i = 3.8 ± 0.1 mM (cellobiose); for PcβGlu2, K_i = 0.83 ± 0.05 mM (glucose) and K_i = 0.95 ± 0.07 mM (cellobiose). The enzymes were tested for saccharification of different biomasses, individually or supplementing a Trichoderma reesei commercial cellulose preparation. PcβGlu2 was able to hydrolyze banana pseudostem and coconut fiber with the same efficiency as the T. reesei cocktail, showing significant synergistic properties with T. reesei enzymes in the hydrolysis of these alternative biomasses.

CONCLUSIONS

The β-glucosidases from P. citrinum UFV1 present different enzymatic properties from each other and might have potential application in several biotechnological processes, such as hydrolysis of different types of biomass.

An acid-stable β-glucosidase from Aspergillus aculeatus: Gene expression, biochemical characterization and molecular dynamics simulation

β-Glucosidases hydrolyze terminal, non-reducing β-d-glucosyl residues and thereby release β-d-glucose. They have applications in the production of biofuels, beverages and pharmaceuticals. In this study, a β-glucosidase derived from Aspergillus aculeatus (BGLA) was expressed, characterized, and the molecular mechanism of its acid denaturation was comprehensively probed. BGLA exhibited maximal activity at pH 5.0-6.0. Its optimal temperature was 70 °C. Its enzyme activity was enhanced by Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺ and Ba²⁺, while Cu²⁺, Mn²⁺, Zn²⁺, Fe²⁺ and Fe³⁺ had a negative effect. BGLA showed activity on a broad range of substrates including salicin, cellobiose, arbutin, geniposide and polydatin. Finally, the acid-denaturation mechanism of BGLA was probed using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The results of simulation at pH 2.0 imply that the contact number, solvent accessible surface area and number of hydrogen bonds in BGLA decreased greatly. Moreover, the distance between the residues Asp280 and Glu509 that are part of the active site increased, which eventually destroyed the enzyme's catalytic activity. These MD results explain the molecular mechanism of acid denaturation of BGLA, which will greatly benefit the rational design of more acid-stable β-glucosidase variants in the future.

A highly glucose-tolerant GH1 β-glucosidase with greater conversion rate of soybean isoflavones in monogastric animals

In the feed industry, β-glucosidase has been widely used in the conversion of inactive and bounded soybean isoflavones into active aglycones. However, the conversion is frequently inhibited by the high concentration of intestinal glucose in monogastric animals. In this study, a GH1 β-glucosidase (AsBG1) with high specific activity, thermostability and glucose tolerance (IC50 = 800 mM) was identified. It showed great glucose tolerance against substrates with hydrophobic aryl ligands (such as pNPG and soy isoflavones). Using soybean meal as the substrate, AsBG1 exhibited higher hydrolysis efficiency than the GH3 counterpart Bgl3A with or without the presence of glucose in the reaction system. Furthermore, it is the first time to find that the endogenous β-glucosidase of soybean meal, mostly belonging to GH3, plays a role in the hydrolysis of soybean isoflavones and is highly sensitive to glucose. These findings lead to a conclusion that the GH1 rather than GH3 β-glucosidase has prosperous application advantages in the conversion of soybean isoflavones in the feed industry.

Molecular Characterization and Potential Synthetic Applications of GH1 β-Glucosidase from Higher Termite Microcerotermes annandalei

A novel β-glucosidase from higher termite Microcerotermes annandalei (MaBG) was obtained via a screening method targeting β-glucosidases with increased activities in the presence of glucose. The purified natural MaBG showed a subunit molecular weight of 55 kDa and existed in a native form as a dimer without any glycosylation. Gene-specific primers designed from its partial amino acid sequences were used to amplify the corresponding 1,419-bp coding sequence of MaBG which encodes a 472-amino acid glycoside hydrolase family 1 (GH1) β-glucosidase. When expressed in Komagataella pastoris, the recombinant MaBG appeared as a ~ 55-kDa protein without glycosylation modifications. Kinetic parameters as well as the lack of secretion signal suggested that MaBG is an intracellular enzyme and not involved in cellulolysis. The hydrolytic activities of MaBG were enhanced in the presence of up to 3.5-4.5 M glucose, partly due to its strong transglucosylation activity, which suggests its applicability in biosynthetic processes. The potential synthetic activities of the recombinant MaBG were demonstrated in the synthesis of para-nitrophenyl-β-D-gentiobioside via transglucosylation and octyl glucoside via reverse hydrolysis. The information obtained from this study has broadened our insight into the functional characteristics of this variant of termite GH1 β-glucosidase and its applications in bioconversion and biotechnology.

Effects of 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium nitrate on the microbes in brown soil

The toxicity of ionic liquids (ILs) on soil organisms has aroused wide attention due to their high-solubility. The present investigation focused on the toxicity of 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium nitrate ([C₈mim]NO₃) on the microbial populations (bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes), soil enzyme (urease, dehydrogenase, acid phosphatase, and β-glucosidase) activities, microbial community diversity using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP), and abundance of the ammonia monooxygenase (amoA) genes of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (q-PCR) in brown soil at each trial with doses of 0, 1.0, 5.0, and 10.0mg/kg on days 10, 20, 30, and 40. The contents of [C₈mim]NO₃ in soil were measured using high performance liquid chromatography with recoveries of 84.3% to 85.2%, and changed less than 10% during the experimental period. A significant decrease was observed from the bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes populations at 10.0mg/kg, at which the urease activity was inhibited and the β-glucosidase activity was stimulated on days 20, 30, and 40. In addition, [C₈mim]NO₃ inhibited the dehydrogenase activity at 10mg/kg on days 30 and 40 and the acid phosphatase activity on day 20. The diversity of the soil microbial community and the gene abundance of AOA- and AOB- amoA were also inhibited. Furthermore, the present investigation provided more scientific information for the toxicity evaluation of ILs in soil.

Extra metabolic burden by displaying over secreting: Growth, fermentation and enzymatic activity in cellobiose of recombinant yeast expressing β-glucosidase

β-Glucosidase was selected to be a reporter to study metabolic burden imposed by its expression in yeast. Cell growth, fermentation yield and enzymatic activity were used as indicators of the metabolic burden borne by 14 recombinant yeast strains. Various factors were found to affect metabolic burden, including BGLI gene source, gene dose, trafficking of the enzyme (either cell-surface display or secretion), and oxygen supply. While BGLI gene from Aspergillus aculeatus provided better performance for the host cells than that from Saccharomycopsis fibuligera, displaying β-glucosidase on the cell surface generally led to lower μ_m, total activity and ethanol titer, and longer lag period, lower (aerobic condition) or higher (anaerobic condition) biomass yield than that of secreting β-glucosidase. The negative effect on growth increased with gene dose level until a final failure to grow. This growth difference implies that displaying β-glucosidase on the cell surface imposes an extra metabolic burden. The molecular basis and mechanisms for this phenomenon need to further be investigated in order to develop better strategies for utilizing displayed and secreted enzymes in biotechnology and yeast breeding.

Optimization of cellulolytic enzyme components through engineering Trichoderma reesei and on-site fermentation using the soluble inducer for cellulosic ethanol production from corn stover

BACKGROUND

Cellulolytic enzymes produced by Trichoderma reesei are widely studied for biomass bioconversion, and enzymatic components vary depending on different inducers. In our previous studies, a mixture of glucose and disaccharide (MGD) was developed and used to induce cellulase production. However, the enzymatic profile induced by MGD is still not defined, and further optimization of the enzyme cocktail is also required for efficient ethanol production from lignocellulosic biomass.

RESULTS

In this study, cellulolytic enzymes produced by T. reesei Rut C30 using MGD and alkali-pretreated corn stover (APCS) as inducer were compared. Cellular secretome in response to each inducer was analyzed, which revealed a similar enzyme profile. However, significant difference in the content of cellulases and xylanase was detected. Although MGD induction enhanced β-glucosidase production, its activity was still not sufficient for biomass hydrolysis. To overcome such a disadvantage, aabgl1 encoding β-glucosidase in Aspergillus aculeatus was heterologously expressed in T. reesei Rut C30 under the control of the pdc1 promoter. The recombinant T. reesei PB-3 strain showed an improved β-glucosidase activity of 310 CBU/mL in the fed-batch fermentation, 71-folds higher than that produced by the parent strain. Meanwhile, cellulase activity of 50 FPU/mL was detected. Subsequently, the crude enzyme was applied for hydrolyzing corn stover with a solid loading of 20% through separate hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF) and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation, respectively, for ethanol production. Better performance was observed in the SHF process, through which a total of 119.9 g/L glucose was released within 12 h for concomitant ethanol production of 54.2 g/L.

CONCLUSIONS

The similar profile of cellulolytic enzymes was detected under the induction of MGD and APCS, but higher amount of cellulases was present in the crude enzyme induced by MGD. However, β-glucosidase activity induced by MGD was not sufficient for hydrolyzing lignocellulosic biomass. High titers of cellulases and β-glucosidase were achieved simultaneously by heterologous expression of aabgl1 in T. reesei and fed-batch fermentation through feeding MGD. We demonstrated that on-site cellulase production by T. reesei PB-3 has a potential for efficient biomass saccharification and ethanol production from lignocellulosic biomass.

An ascomycota coculture in batch bioreactor is better than polycultures for cellulase production

Efficient hydrolysis of holocellulose depends on a proper balance between cellulase (endoglucanase, exoglucanase, β-glucosidase) and xylanase activities. The present study aimed to induce the production of cellulases and xylanases using liquid cultures (one, two, three, and four fungal strains on the same bioreactor) of wild strains of Trichoderma harzianum, Aspergillus niger, and Fusarium oxysporum. The strains were identified by amplification and analysis of the ITS rDNA region and the obtained sequences were deposited in Genbank. Enzymes (endoglucanase, exoglucansae, β-glucosidase, and xylanase activities) and the profile of extracellular protein isoforms (SDS-PAGE) produced by different fungal combinations (N = 14) were analyzed by Pearson's correlation matrix and principal component analysis (PCA). According to our results, induction of endoglucanase (19.02%) and β-glucosidase (6.35%) were obtained after 4 days when A. niger and F. oxysporum were cocultured. The combination of A. niger-T. harzianum produced higher endoglucanase in a shorter time than monocultures. On the contrary, when more than two strains were cultured in the same reactor, the relationships of competition were established, trending to diminish the amount of enzymes and the extracellular protein isoforms produced. The xylanase production was sensible to stress produced by mixed cultures, decreasing their activity. This is important when the aim is to produce cellulase-free xylanase. In addition, exoglucanase activity did not change in the combinations tested.

Probiotic lactic acid bacteria isolated from traditional Korean fermented foods based on β-glucosidase activity

This study was designed to isolate lactic acid bacteria (LAB) with β-glucosidase activity and probiotic properties from Korean fermented foods. Among nine isolates, four LAB strains had excellent survival rates at pH 2.5 with 0.3% (w/v) pepsin for 3 h and 0.3% (w/v) oxgall for 24 h. Four LAB strains did not produce β-glucuronidase and showed adhesion ability to HT-29 cells that was superior to that shown by the reference strain Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG. All four strains were sensitive to ampicillin, tetracycline, chloramphenicol, and doxycycline. These strains were identified as Leuconostoc mesenteroides H40, Lactobacillus plantarum FI10604, L. brevis FI10700, and L. perolens FI10842 by 16S rRNA gene sequence, respectively. It was found that L. perolens FI10842 produced the highest β-glucosidase activity (49.10 mU/mL). These results indicate that the four LAB strains could be used as potential probiotic. Especially L. perolens FI10842 could be used as a starter culture for fermentation.

The structural and functional contributions of β-glucosidase-producing microbial communities to cellulose degradation in composting

BACKGROUND

Compost habitats sustain a vast ensemble of microbes that engender the degradation of cellulose, which is an important part of global carbon cycle. β-Glucosidase is the rate-limiting enzyme of degradation of cellulose. Thus, analysis of regulation of β-glucosidase gene expression in composting is beneficial to a better understanding of cellulose degradation mechanism. Genetic diversity and expression of β-glucosidase-producing microbial communities, and relationships of cellulose degradation, metabolic products and the relative enzyme activity during natural composting and inoculated composting were evaluated.

RESULTS

Compared with natural composting, adding inoculation agent effectively improved the degradation of cellulose, and maintained high level of the carboxymethyl cellulose (CMCase) and β-glucosidase activities in thermophilic phase. Gene expression analysis showed that glycoside hydrolase family 1 (GH1) family of β-glucosidase genes contributed more to β-glucosidase activity in the later thermophilic phase in inoculated compost. In the cooling phase of natural compost, glycoside hydrolase family 3 (GH3) family of β-glucosidase genes contributed more to β-glucosidase activity. Intracellular β-glucosidase activity played a crucial role in the regulation of β-glucosidase gene expression, and upregulation or downregulation was also determined by extracellular concentration of glucose. At sufficiently high glucose concentrations, the functional microbial community in compost was altered, which may contribute to maintaining β-glucosidase activity despite the high glucose content.

CONCLUSION

This research provides an ecological functional map of microorganisms involved in carbon metabolism in cattle manure-rice straw composting. The performance of the functional microbial groups in the two composting treatments is different, which is related to the cellulase activity and cellulose degradation, respectively.

Techno-economic analysis of the industrial production of a low-cost enzyme using E. coli: the case of recombinant β-glucosidase

BACKGROUND

The enzymatic conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into fermentable sugars is a promising approach for producing renewable fuels and chemicals. However, the cost and efficiency of the fungal enzyme cocktails that are normally employed in these processes remain a significant bottleneck. A potential route to increase hydrolysis yields and thereby reduce the hydrolysis costs would be to supplement the fungal enzymes with their lacking enzymatic activities, such as β-glucosidase. In this context, it is not clear from the literature whether recombinant E. coli could be a cost-effective platform for the production of some of these low-value enzymes, especially in the case of on-site production. Here, we present a conceptual design and techno-economic evaluation of the production of a low-cost industrial enzyme using recombinant E. coli.

RESULTS

In a simulated baseline scenario for β-glucosidase demand in a hypothetical second-generation ethanol (2G) plant in Brazil, we found that the production cost (316 US$/kg) was higher than what is commonly assumed in the literature for fungal enzymes, owing especially to the facility-dependent costs (45%) and to consumables (23%) and raw materials (25%). Sensitivity analyses of process scale, inoculation volume, and volumetric productivity indicated that optimized conditions may promote a dramatic reduction in enzyme cost and also revealed the most relevant factors affecting production costs.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite the considerable technical and economic uncertainties that surround 2G ethanol and the large-scale production of low-cost recombinant enzymes, this work sheds light on some relevant questions and supports future studies in this field. In particular, we conclude that process optimization, on many fronts, may strongly reduce the costs of E. coli recombinant enzymes, in the context of tailor-made enzymatic cocktails for 2G ethanol production.

Response Surface Methodology for Optimization of Genistein Content in Soy Flour and its Effect on the Antioxidant Activity

Biotransformation of isoflavones glycosides into the aglycone form is essential to attain the maximum bioavailability. The factors affecting deglycosylation of genistin in soy flour using commercial β-glucosidase enzyme were evaluated. The presence of genistin in soy flour was confirmed by isolation through chromatographic fractionation and identification by spectral method. Two-levels Plackett-Burman design was applied and effective variables for genistein production were determined. Agitation rate, enzyme concentration, and reaction time, owing to their significant positive effect, and pH, owing to its significant negative effect, were further evaluated using Box-Behnken model. Accordingly the optimal combination of the major reaction affecting factors was "enzyme concentration, 1 IU; agitation speed, 250 rpm; reaction time, 5 h and pH 4. The concentration of genistein can be increased by 9.91 folds (from 0.8 mg/g in the non biotransformed soy flour to 7.93 mg/g in the biotransformed one) using the determined optimal combination of major reaction affecting factors. The antioxidant activity of the non biotransformed and biotransformed soy flour extracts was determined by DPPH method. It was found that biotransformation increase the antioxidant activity by two folds. The concentration causing a 50% reduction of DPPH absorbance (EC₅₀) were 10 and 5 mg/mL for the non biotransformed and biotransformed soy flour extracts, respectively.

A novel β-glucosidase from Saccharophagus degradans 2-40T for the efficient hydrolysis of laminarin from brown macroalgae

BACKGROUND

Laminarin is a potential biomass feedstock for the production of glucose, which is the most preferable fermentable sugar in many microorganisms by which it can be converted to biofuels and bio-based chemicals. Also, laminarin is a good resource as functional materials because it consists of β-1,3-glucosidic linkages in its backbone and β-1,6-glucosidic linkages in its branches so that its oligosaccharides driven from laminarin have a variety of biological activities. It is industrially important to be able to produce laminarioligosaccharides as well as glucose from laminarin by a single enzyme because the enzyme cost accounts for a large part of bio-based products. In this study, we investigated the industrial applicability of Bgl1B, a unique β-glucosidase from Saccharophagus degradans 2-40^T, belonging to the glycoside hydrolase family 1 (GH1) by characterizing its activity of hydrolyzing laminarin under various conditions.

RESULTS

Bgl1B was cloned and overexpressed in Escherichia coli from S. degradans 2-40^T, and its enzymatic activity was characterized. Similar to most of β-glucosidases in GH1, Bgl1B was able to hydrolyze a variety of disaccharides having different β-linkages, such as laminaribiose, cellobiose, gentiobiose, lactose, and agarobiose, by cleaving β-1,3-, β-1,4-, and β-1,6-glycosidic linkages. However, Bgl1B showed the highest specific activity toward laminaribiose with a β-1,3-glycosidic linkage. In addition, it was able to hydrolyze laminarin, one of the major polysaccharides in brown macroalgae, into glucose with a conversion yield of 75% of theoretical maximum. Bgl1B also showed transglycosylation activity by producing oligosaccharides from laminarin and laminaribiose under a high mass ratio of substrate to enzyme. Furthermore, Bgl1B was found to be psychrophilic, exhibiting relative activity of 59-85% in the low-temperature range of 2-20 °C.

CONCLUSIONS

Bgl1B can directly hydrolyze laminarin into glucose with a high conversion yield without leaving any oligosaccharides. Bgl1B can exhibit high enzymatic activity in a broad range of low temperatures (2-20 °C), which is advantageous for establishing energy-efficient bioprocesses. In addition, under high substrate to enzyme ratios, Bgl1B can produce high-value laminarioligosaccharides via its transglycosylation activity. These results show that Bgl1B can be an industrially important enzyme for the production of biofuels and bio-based chemicals from brown macroalgae.

Preparation of gentiooligosaccharides using Trichoderma viride β-glucosidase

The recombinant plasmid pPIC9K-bgl1 containing β-glucosidase bgl1 from Trichoderma viride was constructed by overlapping PCR and integrated into Pichia pastoris KM71. In order to assist the formation of disulfide bonds and thus improve protein folding efficiency, protein disulfide isomerase pdi was co-expressed in the P. pastoris KM71/pPIC9K-bgl1/pPICZ-A-pdi strain, and fermentation in flasks resulted in enzyme activity of 143 U/ml. The enzyme activity of β-glucosidase reached 1402 U/ml following optimisation of fermentation conditions in a 3.6 l bioreactor. With 80% glucose as substrate, gentiooligosaccharides were synthesised by β-glucosidase-based reverse hydrolysis. A yield of 130 g/l was achieved with a conversion rate of 16.25%. With 20% glucose and 40% cellobiose as substrates, gentiooligosaccharides were synthesised by transglycosylation with a yield of 116 g/l and a conversion rate of 19.4%.

Quantification of the catalytic performance of C1-cellulose-specific lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases

Lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) have recently been shown to significantly enhance the degradation of recalcitrant polysaccharides and are of interest for the production of biochemicals and bioethanol from plant biomass. The copper-containing LPMOs utilize electrons, provided by reducing agents, to oxidatively cleave polysaccharides. Here, we report the development of a β-glucosidase-assisted method to quantify the release of C1-oxidized gluco-oligosaccharides from cellulose by two C1-oxidizing LPMOs from Myceliophthora thermophila C1. Based on this quantification method, we demonstrate that the catalytic performance of both MtLPMOs is strongly dependent on pH and temperature. The obtained results indicate that the catalytic performance of LPMOs depends on the interaction of multiple factors, which are affected by both pH and temperature.

Enhanced cell-surface display of a heterologous protein using SED1 anchoring system in SED1-disrupted Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain

Yeast displaying enzymes on the cell surface are used for developing whole-cell biocatalysts. High enzyme activity on the cell surface is required in certain applications such as direct ethanol production from lignocellulosic materials. However, the cell surface enzyme activity is limited by several factors, one of which is the protein amount of the yeast cell wall. In this study, we attempted to improve the incorporation capacity of a displayed heterologous enzyme by disrupting a native cell-wall protein. β-Glucosidase (BGL1) from Aspergillus aculeatus was fused with Saccharomyces cerevisiae Sed1 and displayed on the cell surface of S. cerevisiae BY4741 strain and its SED1 disruptant. Sed1 is one of the most abundant stationary phase yeast cell wall protein. A time course analysis revealed that BGL1 activity of the control strain reached saturation after 48 h of cultivation. In contrast, the BGL1 activity of the SED1 disruptant increased until 72 h of cultivation and was 22% higher than that of the control strain. We also performed relative quantification of cell wall proteins of these strains by nanoscale ultra pressure liquid chromatography electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (nano-UPLC-MS^E). The amount of the cell wall-associated BGL1 per unit dry cell-weight of the SED1 disruptant was 19% higher than that of the control strain. These results suggested that the incorporation capacity of the cell wall for BGL1 was increased by disruption of SED1. Disruption of SED1 would be a promising approach for improving display efficiency of heterologous protein fused with Sed1.

Production of the versatile cellulase for cellulose bioconversion and cellulase inducer synthesis by genetic improvement of Trichoderma reesei

BACKGROUND

The enzymes for efficient hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass are a major factor in the development of an economically feasible cellulose bioconversion process. Up to now, low hydrolysis efficiency and high production cost of cellulases remain the significant hurdles in this process. The aim of the present study was to develop a versatile cellulase system with the enhanced hydrolytic efficiency and the ability to synthesize powerful inducers by genetically engineering Trichoderma reesei.

RESULTS

In our study, we employed a systematic genetic strategy to construct the carbon catabolite-derepressed strain T. reesei SCB18 to produce the cellulase complex that exhibited a strong cellulolytic capacity for biomass saccharification and an extraordinary high β-glucosidase (BGL) activity for cellulase-inducing disaccharides synthesis. We first identified the hypercellulolytic and uracil auxotrophic strain T. reesei SP4 as carbon catabolite repressed, and then deleted the carbon catabolite repressor gene cre1 in the genome. We found that the deletion of cre1 with the selectable marker pyrG led to a 72.6% increase in total cellulase activity, but a slight reduction in saccharification efficiency. To facilitate the following genetic modification, the marker pyrG was successfully removed by homologous recombination based on resistance to 5-FOA. Furthermore, the Aspergillus niger BGLA-encoding gene bglA was overexpressed, and the generated strain T. reesei SCB18 exhibited a 29.8% increase in total cellulase activity and a 51.3-fold enhancement in BGL activity (up to 103.9 IU/mL). We observed that the cellulase system of SCB18 showed significantly higher saccharification efficiency toward differently pretreated corncob residues than the control strains SDC11 and SP4. Moreover, the crude enzyme preparation from SCB18 with high BGL activity possessed strong transglycosylation ability to synthesize β-disaccharides from glucose. The transglycosylation product was finally utilized as the inducer for cellulase production, which provided a 63.0% increase in total cellulase activity compared to the frequently used soluble inducer, lactose.

CONCLUSIONS

In summary, we constructed a versatile cellulase system in T. reesei for efficient biomass saccharification and powerful cellulase inducer synthesis by combinational genetic manipulation of three distinct types of genes to achieve the customized cellulase production, thus providing a viable strategy for further strain improvement to reduce the cost of biomass-based biofuel production.

An Oleuropein β-Glucosidase from Olive Fruit Is Involved in Determining the Phenolic Composition of Virgin Olive Oil

Phenolic composition of virgin olive oil is determined by the enzymatic and/or chemical reactions that take place during olive fruit processing. Of these enzymes, β-glucosidase activity plays a relevant role in the transformation of the phenolic glycosides present in the olive fruit, generating different secoiridoid derivatives. The main goal of the present study was to characterize olive fruit β-glucosidase genes and enzymes responsible for the phenolic composition of virgin olive oil. To achieve that, we have isolated an olive β-glucosidase gene from cultivar Picual (OepGLU), expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves and purified its corresponding recombinant enzyme. Western blot analysis showed that recombinant OepGLU protein is detected by an antibody raised against the purified native olive mesocarp β-glucosidase enzyme, and exhibits a deduced molecular mass of 65.0 kDa. The recombinant OepGLU enzyme showed activity on the major olive phenolic glycosides, with the highest levels with respect to oleuropein, followed by ligstroside and demethyloleuropein. In addition, expression analysis showed that olive GLU transcript level in olive fruit is spatially and temporally regulated in a cultivar-dependent manner. Furthermore, temperature, light and water regime regulate olive GLU gene expression in olive fruit mesocarp. All these data are consistent with the involvement of OepGLU enzyme in the formation of the major phenolic compounds present in virgin olive oil.

Light induced expression of β-glucosidase in Escherichia coli with autolysis of cell

Background

β-Glucosidase has attracted substantial attention in the scientific community because of its pivotal role in cellulose degradation, glycoside transformation and many other industrial processes. However, the tedious and costly expression and purification procedures have severely thwarted the industrial applications of β-glucosidase. Thus development of new strategies to express β-glucosidases with cost-effective and simple procedure to meet the increasing demands on enzymes for biocatalysis is of paramount importance.

Results

Light activated cassette YF1/FixJ and the SRRz lysis system were successfully constructed to produce Bgl1A(A24S/F297Y), a mutant β-glucosidase tolerant to both glucose and ethanol. By optimizing the parameters for light induction, Bgl1A(A24S/F297Y) activity reached 33.22 ± 2.0 U/mL and 249.92 ± 12.25 U/mL in 250-mL flask and 3-L fermentation tank, respectively, comparable to the controls of 34.02 ± 1.96 U/mL and 322.21 ± 10.16 U/mL under similar culture conditions with IPTG induction. To further simplify the production of our target protein, the SRRz lysis gene cassette from bacteriophage Lambda was introduced to trigger cell autolysis. As high as 84.53 ± 6.79% and 77.21 ± 4.79% of the total β-glucosidase were released into the lysate after cell autolysis in 250 mL flasks and 3-L scale fermentation with lactose as inducer of SRRz. In order to reduce the cost of protein purification, a cellulose-binding module (CBM) from Clostridium thermocellum was fused into the C-terminal of Bgl1A(A24S/F297Y) and cellulose was used as an economic material to adsorb the fusion enzyme from the lysate. The yield of the fusion protein could reach 92.20 ± 2.27% after one-hour adsorption at 25 °C.

Conclusions

We have developed an efficient and inexpensive way to produce β-glucosidase for potential industrial applications by using the combination of light induction, cell autolysis, and CBM purification strategy.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12896-017-0402-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Characterization of a beta-glucosidase from Bacillus licheniformis and its effect on bioflocculant degradation

Bacillus licheniformis CGMCC 2876, an aerobic spore-forming bacterium, produces a polysaccharide bioflocculant that is biodegradable and harmless. The present study determined that β-glucosidase played a negative role in bioflocculant synthesis. The gene encoding β-glucosidase was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21. This gene consists of 1437 bp and encodes 478 amino acid residues. The recombinant β-glucosidase (Bgl.bli1) was purified and showed a molecular mass of 53.4 kDa by SDS-PAGE. The expression and reaction conditions of Bgl.bli1 were optimized; the activity of β-glucosidase reached a maximum at 45.44 U/mL. Glucose clearly inhibited the activity of β-glucosidase. The purified recombinant Bgl.bli1 hydrolysed polysaccharide bioflocculant in vitro and synergised with other cellulases. The ability of Bgl.bli1 to hydrolyse polysaccharide bioflocculant was the reason for the decrease in flocculating activity and indicated the utility of this enzyme for diverse industrial processes.

Pilot scale repeated fed-batch fermentation processes of the wine yeast Dekkera bruxellensis for mass production of resveratrol from Polygonum cuspidatum

Resveratrol has long been used as an ingredient in functional foods. Currently, Polygonum cuspidatum extract is the greatest natural source for resveratrol because of high concentrations of glycosidic-linked resveratrol. Thus, developing a cost-effective procedure to hydrolyze glucoside could substantially enhance resveratrol production from P. cuspidatum. This study selected Dekkera bruxellensis from several microorganisms based on its bioconversion and enzyme-specific activities. We demonstrated that the cells could be reused at least nine times while maintaining an average of 180.67U/L β-glucosidase activity. The average resveratrol bioconversion efficiency within five rounds of repeated usage was 108.77±0.88%. This process worked effectively when the volume was increased to 1200L, a volume at which approximately 35mgL^-1h^-1 resveratrol per round was produced. This repeated fed-batch bioconversion process for resveratrol production is comparable to enzyme or cell immobilization strategies in terms of reusing cycles, but without incurring additional costs for immobilization.

Modification of chemical properties, Cu fractionation and enzymatic activities in an acid vineyard soil amended with winery wastes: A field study

The effects of adding two winery wastes, perlite waste (PW) and bentonite waste (BW), to an acid vineyard soil were assessed using some chemical and biological soil properties in a field study that lasted 18 months. The addition of PW (up to 81 Mg ha^-1) had neither significant nor permanent effects on soil characteristics such as the pH, organic matter content or nutrient concentrations, the amounts of copper or zinc, or the electrical conductivity. Moreover, no persistent negative effects were found on the enzymatic activities after PW application. In contrast, soil that was amended with up to 71 Mg BW ha^-1 showed increases in its soil pH values, exchangeable potassium and water soluble potassium and phosphorus contents. In addition, it caused significant increases in the electrical conductivity and water-soluble Cu. In addition, the phosphomonoesterase enzymatic activity decreased significantly (up to 28%) in response to the amendment with 71 Mg BW ha^-1. These results showed that adding BW and PW to the soil may be a good agronomic practice for recycling these types of wastes. However, in the case of PW, its use as a soil amendment must be performed with caution to control its possible harmful effects.