Novel cellulase recycling method using a combination of Clostridium thermocellum cellulosomes and Thermoanaerobacter brockii β-glucosidase

Effective bioconversion of fungal-spoiled starchy food waste into fermentable sugars using fungi-degrading, artificial amylosomes

Fungi-degrading artificial amylosomes were newly developed consisting of fungi-degrading enzyme (NAG), starch-degrading enzymes and a scaffold protein. Amylosome scaffolds containing starch-binding proteins (SbpCbpA and CCSbpCbpA) were highly bound to starch and fungal-spoiled food waste. Amylosomes showed an average of 1.43-fold higher reducing sugar production from starch. 2.00-fold α-amylase in amylosomes increased reducing sugar production from amylose by an average of 1.50-fold. At 70°C for 6 hours, SbpCbpA and CCSbpCbpA maintained an average activity of 56.42% compared to the control (38.37%). The enzyme mixture and amylosomes with NAG showed an average 1.31-fold increase in glucose production in response to fungal-spoiled food waste compared to samples without NAG; in particular, CCSbpCbpA with NAG produced 62.44 ± 0.03 mM glucose (2.55-fold of the enzyme mixture without NAG). This research strategy can be applicable to the starch and fungal-spoiled food waste saccharification in an ecofriendly manner, leading to sugar production in industrial fields.

Engineering multifunctional enzymes for agro-biomass utilization

Lignocellulosic biomass is a plentiful renewable resource that can be converted into a wide range of high-value-added industrial products. However, the complexity of its structural integrity is one of the major constraints and requires combinations of different fibrolytic enzymes for the cost-effective, industrially and environmentally feasible transformation. An interesting approach is constructing multifunctional enzymes, either in a single polypeptide or by joining multiple domains with linkers and performing diverse reactions simultaneously, in a single host. The production of such chimera proteins multiplies the advantages of different enzymatic reactions in a single setup, in lesser time, at lower production cost and with desirable and improved catalytic activities. This review embodies the various domain-tailoring and extracellular secretion strategies, possible solutions to their challenges, and efforts to experimentally connect different catalytic activities in a single host, as well as their applications.

Biological cellulose saccharification using a coculture of Clostridium thermocellum and Thermobrachium celere strain A9

Abstract

An anaerobic thermophilic bacterial strain, A9 (NITE P-03545), that secretes β-glucosidase was newly isolated from wastewater sediments by screening using esculin. The 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain A9 had 100% identity with that of Thermobrachium celere type strain JW/YL-NZ35. The complete genome sequence of strain A9 showed 98.4% average nucleotide identity with strain JW/YL-NZ35. However, strain A9 had different physiological properties from strain JW/YL-NZ35, which cannot secrete β-glucosidases or grow on cellobiose as the sole carbon source. The key β-glucosidase gene (TcBG1) of strain A9, which belongs to glycoside hydrolase family 1, was characterized. Recombinant β-glucosidase (rTcBG1) hydrolyzed cellooligosaccharides to glucose effectively. Furthermore, rTcBG1 showed high thermostability (at 60°C for 2 days) and high glucose tolerance (IC₅₀ = 0.75 M glucose), suggesting that rTcBG1 could be used for biological cellulose saccharification in cocultures with Clostridium thermocellum. High cellulose degradation was observed when strain A9 was cocultured with C. thermocellum in a medium containing 50 g/l crystalline cellulose, and glucose accumulation in the culture supernatant reached 35.2 g/l. In contrast, neither a monoculture of C. thermocellum nor coculture of C. thermocellum with strain JW/YL-NZ35 realized efficient cellulose degradation or high glucose accumulation. These results show that the β-glucosidase secreted by strain A9 degrades cellulose effectively in combination with C. thermocellum cellulosomes and has the potential to be used in a new biological cellulose saccharification process that does not require supplementation with β-glucosidases.

Key points

• Strain A9 can secrete a thermostable β-glucosidase that has high glucose tolerance

• A coculture of strain A9 and C. thermocellum showed high cellulose degradation

• Strain A9 achieves biological saccharification without addition of β-glucosidase

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00253-022-11818-0.

Strategies towards Reduction of Cellulases Consumption: Debottlenecking the Economics of Lignocellulosics Valorization Processes

Lignocellulosic residues have been receiving growing interest as a promising source of polysaccharides, which can be converted into a variety of compounds, ranging from biofuels to bioplastics. Most of these can replace equivalent products traditionally originated from petroleum, hence representing an important environmental advantage. Lignocellulosic materials are theoretically unlimited, cheaper and may not compete with food crops. However, the conversion of these materials to simpler sugars usually requires cellulolytic enzymes. Being still associated with a high cost of production, cellulases are commonly considered as one of the main obstacles in the economic valorization of lignocellulosics. This work provides a brief overview of some of the most studied strategies that can allow an important reduction of cellulases consumption, hence improving the economy of lignocellulosics conversion. Cellulases recycling is initially discussed regarding the main processes to recover active enzymes and the most important factors that may affect enzyme recyclability. Similarly, the potential of enzyme immobilization is analyzed with a special focus on the contributions that some elements of the process can offer for prolonged times of operation and improved enzyme stability and robustness. Finally, the emergent concept of consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) is also described in the particular context of a potential reduction of cellulases consumption.

Binding affinity of family 4 carbohydrate binding module on cellulose films of nanocrystals and nanofibrils

The binding affinity and thermodynamics of family 4 carbohydrate-binding module (CBM4), belonging to type B CBM, on model surfaces of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) and nanofibrils (CNF) were investigated by quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) technology in real-time at different temperatures. The thermodynamic parameters associated with the interaction, such as Gibbs free energy, enthalpy change, entropy change and heat capacity were obtained using the van't Hoff analysis via a nonlinear parameter estimation. The results demonstrated CBM4 binds preferentially to both CNF and CNC, whereas the driving forces behind them were very different. The former was related to the hydrogen bonds formed in the CBM4 clefts, resulting in a favorable enthalpy but compensated by unfavorable entropy change; on the contrary, the latter was mainly driven by favorable entropy but compensated by unfavorable enthalpic change due to water rearrangement.

Genetic modification: A tool for enhancing beta-glucosidase production for biofuel application

Beta-glucosidase (BGL) is a rate-limiting enzyme for cellulose hydrolysis as it acts in the final step of lignocellulosic biomass conversion to convert cellobiose into glucose, the final end product. Most of the fungal strains used for cellulase production are deficient in BGL hence BGL is supplemented into cellulases to have an efficient biomass conversion. Genetic engineering has enabled strain modification to produce BGL optimally with desired properties to be employed for biofuel applications. It has been cloned either directly into the host strains lacking BGL or into another expression system, to be overexpressed so as to be blended into BGL deficient cellulases. In this article, role of genetic engineering to overcome BGL limitations in the cellulase cocktail and its significance for biofuel applications has been critically reviewed.

Efficient whole-cell-catalyzing cellulose saccharification using engineered Clostridium thermocellum

BACKGROUND

Cost-efficient saccharification is one of the main bottlenecks for industrial lignocellulose conversion. Clostridium thermocellum naturally degrades lignocellulose efficiently using the cellulosome, a multiprotein supermolecular complex, and thus can be potentially used as a low-cost catalyst for lignocellulose saccharification. The industrial use of C. thermocellum is restrained due largely to the inhibition of the hydrolysate cellobiose to its cellulosome. Although the supplementation of beta-glucosidase may solve the problem, the production of the enzymes greatly complicates the process and may also increase the cost of saccharification.

RESULTS

To conquer the feedback inhibition and establish an efficient whole-cell catalyst for highly efficient cellulose saccharification, we constructed a recombinant strain of C. thermocellum ∆pyrF::CaBglA which produced a secretory exoglucanase CelS-bearing heterologous BGL using a newly developed seamless genome editing system. Without the extra addition of enzymes, the relative saccharification level of ∆pyrF::CaBglA was stimulated by over twofolds compared to its parent strain ∆pyrF through a two-stage saccharification process with 100 g/L Avicel as the carbon source. The production of reducing sugars and the relative saccharification level were further enhanced to 490 mM and 79.4%, respectively, with increased cell density.

CONCLUSIONS

The high cellulose-degrading ability and sugar productivity suggested that the whole-cell-catalysis strategy for cellulose saccharification is promising, and the C. thermocellum strain ∆pyrF::CaBglA could be potentially used as an efficient whole-cell catalyst for industrial cellulose saccharification.

A kinetics modeling study on the inhibition of glucose on cellulosome of Clostridium thermocellum

A simplified kinetics model was built to study the inhibition of glucose on cellulosome of Clostridium thermocellum. Suitable reaction conditions were adopted to evaluate the model. The model was evaluated at different temperatures and further with various activated carbon additions as adsorbent for glucose. Investigation results revealed that the model could describe the hydrolysis kinetics of cellulose by cellulosome quite well. Glucose was found to be an inhibitor for cellulosome based on the kinetics analysis. Inhibition increased with the increase in temperature. Activated carbon as adsorbent could lower the inhibition. Parameters in the model were further discussed based on the experiment. The model might also be used to describe the strong inhibition of cellobiose on cellulosome. Saccharification of cellulose by both cellulosome and C. thermocellum could be enhanced efficiently by activated carbon addition.

Reducing β-glucosidase supplementation during cellulase recovery using engineered strain for successive lignocellulose bioconversion

Enzyme recycling by re-adsorption is one of the primary methods for reducing enzyme usage in lignocellulose conversion. This work proposes the combination of an engineered yeast strain that expresses β-glucosidase with enzyme recycling to reduce the amount of supplemented β-glucosidase in enzyme recycling experiments. Using the engineered strain, a slight increase in ethanol concentration was obtained after a 96-h fermentation of pretreated corncobs. Ethanol concentrations increased by 34.7% and 62.7% in the following two recycle rounds using the engineered strain compared with those using its parental strain without β-glucosidase addition. Furthermore, with the addition of β-glucosidase at 30CBU/g cellulose, the ethanol concentration after two recycle rounds exceeded 90% of that observed in the first SSF round with the engineered strain at a high initial cellulase loading of 45FPU/g cellulose.

A process for enhancing the accessibility and reactivity of hardwood kraft-based dissolving pulp for viscose rayon production by cellulase treatment

The commercial pre-hydrolysis kraft-based dissolving pulp production process can be a typical example for the demonstration/implementation of the integrated forest biorefinery concept. In this study, the concept of cellulase treatment of this dissolving pulp for enhancement of accessibility/reactivity in terms of viscose rayon production was demonstrated. The cellulase treatment resulted in the formation of additional openings/surface areas in the fiber structure via the possible action of "etching". As a result, the pore volume of pulp fibers increased, which led to the increase in the accessibility to xanthation, and thus Fock reactivity. Results showed that the cellulase treatment was effective in increasing the Fock reactivity, at a cellulase dosage of 2u/g (based on the dry weight of pulp), the Fock reactivity increased from 47.67% to 79.9%. The adoption of cellulase treatment to hardwood kraft-based dissolving pulp can provide an efficient approach for enhancing its performance in the commercial viscose-rayon process.

Direct glucose production from lignocellulose using Clostridium thermocellum cultures supplemented with a thermostable β-glucosidase

BACKGROUND

Cellulases continue to be one of the major costs associated with the lignocellulose hydrolysis process. Clostridium thermocellum is an anaerobic, thermophilic, cellulolytic bacterium that produces cellulosomes capable of efficiently degrading plant cell walls. The end-product cellobiose, however, inhibits degradation. To maximize the cellulolytic ability of C. thermocellum, it is important to eliminate this end-product inhibition.

RESULTS

This work describes a system for biological saccharification that leads to glucose production following hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass. C. thermocellum cultures supplemented with thermostable beta-glucosidases make up this system. This approach does not require any supplementation with cellulases and hemicellulases. When C. thermocellum strain S14 was cultured with a Thermoanaerobacter brockii beta-glucosidase (CglT with activity 30 U/g cellulose) in medium containing 100 g/L cellulose (617 mM initial glucose equivalents), we observed not only high degradation of cellulose, but also accumulation of 426 mM glucose in the culture broth. In contrast, cultures without CglT, or with less thermostable beta-glucosidases, did not efficiently hydrolyze cellulose and accumulated high levels of glucose. Glucose production required a cellulose load of over 10 g/L. When alkali-pretreated rice straw containing 100 g/L glucan was used as the lignocellulosic biomass, approximately 72% of the glucan was saccharified, and glucose accumulated to 446 mM in the culture broth. The hydrolysate slurry containing glucose was directly fermented to 694 mM ethanol by addition of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, giving an 85% theoretical yield without any inhibition.

CONCLUSIONS

Our process is the first instance of biological saccharification with exclusive production and accumulation of glucose from lignocellulosic biomass. The key to its success was the use of C. thermocellum supplemented with a thermostable beta-glucosidase and cultured under a high cellulose load. We named this approach biological simultaneous enzyme production and saccharification (BSES). BSES may resolve a significant barrier to economical production by providing a platform for production of fermentable sugars with reduced enzyme amounts.

Heterologous expression and characterization of a novel thermo-halotolerant endoglucanase Cel5H from Dictyoglomus thermophilum

A novel β-1,4-endoglucanase gene was cloned from Dictyoglomus thermophilum, designated as Cel5H for being a member of glycoside hydrolase family 5. The purified recombinant endoglucanase showed high hydrolytic activities on carboxylmethyl cellulose with a broad optimal temperature of 50-85°C and an optimal pH of 5.0. Furthermore, this enzyme was highly thermostable with a half-life of 336 h at 70°C and retained more than 80% of the initial activity after 135 days incubation at 50°C. To enhance the performance of the thermophilic endoglucanase, chimeric enzymes containing Cel5H and syncretic cellulose binding module (CBM) were constructed. The results showed that all the CBMs were effective. In addition, Cel5H was highly tolerant against high salt concentration and distinguished from salt-tolerant bacteria since it was independent of high salt concentration. Three-dimensional structure of Cel5H was developed by homology modeling methods and surface electrostatic analysis was performed.