Cellulolytic activity of Thermomonospora curvata: optimal assay conditions, partial purification, and product of the cellulase

Actinomycetes: A Source of Lignocellulolytic Enzymes

Lignocellulose is the most abundant biomass on earth. Agricultural, forest, and agroindustrial activities generate tons of lignocellulosic wastes annually, which present readily procurable, economically affordable, and renewable feedstock for various lignocelluloses based applications. Lignocelluloses are the focus of present decade researchers globally, in an attempt to develop technologies based on natural biomass for reducing dependence on expensive and exhaustible substrates. Lignocellulolytic enzymes, that is, cellulases, hemicellulases, and lignolytic enzymes, play very important role in the processing of lignocelluloses which is prerequisite for their utilization in various processes. These enzymes are obtained from microorganisms distributed in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic domains including bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes. Actinomycetes are an attractive microbial group for production of lignocellulose degrading enzymes. Various studies have evaluated the lignocellulose degrading ability of actinomycetes, which can be potentially implemented in the production of different value added products. This paper is an overview of the diversity of cellulolytic, hemicellulolytic, and lignolytic actinomycetes along with brief discussion of their hydrolytic enzyme systems involved in biomass modification.

Cloning and recombinant expression of a cellulase from the cellulolytic strain Streptomyces sp. G12 isolated from compost

BACKGROUND

The use of lignocellulosic materials for second generation ethanol production would give several advantages such as minimizing the conflict between land use for food and fuel production, providing less expensive raw materials than conventional agricultural feedstock, allowing lower greenhouse gas emissions than those of first generation ethanol. However, cellulosic biofuels are not produced at a competitive level yet, mainly because of the high production costs of the cellulolytic enzymes. Therefore, this study was aimed at discovering new cellulolytic microorganisms and enzymes.

RESULTS

Different bacteria isolated from raw composting materials obtained from vegetable processing industry wastes were screened for their cellulolytic activity on solid medium containing carboxymethylcellulose. Four strains belonging to the actinomycetes group were selected on the basis of their phenotypic traits and cellulolytic activity on solid medium containing carboxymethylcellulose. The strain showing the highest cellulolytic activity was identified by 16S rRNA sequencing as belonging to Streptomyces genus and it was designated as Streptomyces sp. strain G12. Investigating the enzymes responsible for cellulase activity produced by Streptomyces G12 by proteomic analyses, two endoglucanases were identified. Gene coding for one of these enzymes, named CelStrep, was cloned and sequenced. Molecular analysis showed that the celstrep gene has an open reading frame encoding a protein of 379 amino acid residues, including a signal peptide of 37 amino acid residues. Comparison of deduced aminoacidic sequence to the other cellulases indicated that the enzyme CelStrep can be classified as a family 12 glycoside hydrolase. Heterologous recombinant expression of CelStrep was carried out in Escherichia coli, and the active recombinant enzyme was purified from culture supernatant and characterized. It catalyzes the hydrolysis of carboxymethylcellulose following a Michaelis-Menten kinetics with a KM of 9.13 mg/ml and a vmax of 3469 μM min-1. The enzyme exhibits a half life of around 24 h and 96 h at 60°C and 50°C, respectively and shows a retention of around 80% of activity after 96 h at 40°C.

CONCLUSIONS

In this manuscript, we describe the isolation of a new cellulolytic strain, Streptomyces sp. G12, from industrial waste based compost, the identification of the enzymes putatively responsible for its cellulolytic activity, the cloning and the recombinant expression of the gene coding for the Streptomyces sp. G12 cellulase CelStrep, that was characterized showing to exhibit a relevant thermoresistance increasing its potential for cellulose conversion.

Complete genome sequence of Thermomonospora curvata type strain (B9)

Thermomonospora curvata Henssen 1957 is the type species of the genus Thermomonospora. This genus is of interest because members of this clade are sources of new antibiotics, enzymes, and products with pharmacological activity. In addition, members of this genus participate in the active degradation of cellulose. This is the first complete genome sequence of a member of the family Thermomonosporaceae. Here we describe the features of this organism, together with the complete genome sequence and annotation. The 5,639,016 bp long genome with its 4,985 protein-coding and 76 RNA genes is a part of the Genomic Encyclopedia of Bacteria and Archaea project.

Preferential Utilization of Cellobiose by Thermomonospora curvata

Thermomonospora curvata was cultivated on mineral salts medium containing glucose and cellobiose under conditions that increasingly favored the uptake of glucose. In each case cellobiose was utilized in preference to glucose and induced beta-glucosidase and endoglucanase activity. [C]glucose metabolism studies indicated that cellobiose was not cleaved by extracellular beta-glucosidase and transported as glucose. No evidence of cellobiose phosphorylase or a cellobiose-specific phosphoenolpyruvate-phosphotransferase system was observed.

Repression and inactivation of α-amylase in Thermomonospora species during growth on cellobiose

Thermophilic actinomycetes establish themselves as numerically dominant bacterial populations in selected high temperature environments by virtue of their exoenzymic ability to degrade the complex polysaccharides in thermogenic plant biomass. When Thermomonospora curvata and Thermomonospora fusca were grown on a mixture of cellulose and starch in mineral salts minimal medium, α-amylase was repressed via inhibition of maltose uptake by cellobiose. Addition of cellobiose to exponential phase cells growing on maltose or maltotriose triggered rapid degradation of extant amylase in the culture fluid of wild-type cells, but not in a protease-deficient mutant of T. fusca. A serine protease purified from T. fusca caused inactivation of the amylase in culture fluid of the mutant when added at a concentration approximating to that of the wild-type strain. The chelating agent, EDTA, accelerated inactivation by the protease, while the presence of calcium or amylase reaction products protected the amylase. Therefore, during growth in an environment containing multiple polysaccharides, these thermophiles control the levels of their extracellular depolymerizing enzymes via both inducer exclusion and proteolytic inactivation.

Changes in Endoglucanase Patterns during Growth of Thermomonospora curvata on Cellulose

The endoglucanases of the thermophilic actinomycete Thermomonospora curvata were characterized. Early-exponential-phase culture fluid contained at least three endoglucanases, with molecular weights of 23,000, 46,000, and 146,000 and K m values of 1.54, 3.60, and 1.32% carboxymethyl cellulose, respectively. The stationary-phase pattern was altered to include three enzymes with molecular weights of 52,000, 114,000, and 106,000, with respective K m values of 1.77, 8.30, and 1.91%.

Sporotrichum thermophile Growth, Cellulose Degradation, and Cellulase Activity

The activity of components of the extracellular cellulase system of the thermophilic fungus Sporotrichum thermophile showed appreciable differences between strains; β-glucosidase (EC 3.2.1.21) was the most variable component. Although its endoglucanase (EC 3.2.1.4) and exoglucanase (EC 3.2.1.91) activities were markedly lower, S. thermophile degraded cellulose faster than Trichoderma reesei . The production of β-glucosidase lagged behind that of endoglucanase and exoglucanase. The latter activities were produced during active growth. When growth was inhibited by cycloheximide treatment, the hydrolysis of cellulose was lower than in the control in spite of the presence of both endoglucanase and exoglucanase activities in the culture medium. Degradation of cellulose was a growth-associated process, with cellulase preparations hydrolyzing cellulose only to a limited extent. The growth rate and cell density of S. thermophile were similar in media containing cellulose or glucose. A distinctive feature of fungal development in media incorporating cellulose or lactose (inducers of cellulase activity) was the rapid differentiation of reproductive units and autolysis of hyphal cells to liberate propagules which were capable of renewing growth immediately.

Inducible thermoalkalophilic polygalacturonate lyase from Thermomonospora fusca

A thermostable polygalacturonate lyase (PL; EC 4.2.2.2) was secreted by Thermomonospora fusca during stationary phase in pectin-mineral salts medium at 52 degrees C. Biosynthesis was induced by addition of pectic substances to cultures growing on glucose or cellulose but not cellobiose; the disaccharide repressed enzyme synthesis and triggered inactivation of enzyme previously secreted. The PL, purified to electrophoretic and serologic homogeneity, had a molecular size of 56 kilodaltons and an isoelectric point at pH 4.16. The amino acid composition closely resembled that of the major extracellular endoglucanases of the actinomycete. The enzyme had six cystine residues but no detectable sulfhydryl groups. It was inactivated by mild reducing agents and activated by oxygenation, indicating the necessity for disulfide bond maintenance. Temperature and pH optima for the PL reaction were 60 degrees C and 10.45, respectively. Calcium was essential for activity but not stability; calcium dependence curves were altered by low concentrations of toxic metals. The Km for pectin increased 30,000-fold as the percent esterification (methoxylation) of that substrate was increased from 0 to 60%. The size of the minimal susceptible site for PL attack on the pectin molecule was calculated as being equivalent to 10 unesterified residues, based on the correlation of Km values at various degrees of esterification with the percentage of cleavable bonds predicted by a random-number-generating computer program.

Preliminary Characterization of Bacteriophages Infecting the Thermophilic Actinomycete Thermomonospora

Bacteriophages lysing strains of Thermomonospora alba and T. fusca were isolated, following specific enrichment, from vegetable composts. Four Thermomonospora phages were distinguished by plaque morphology and host range. Electron microscopy of phage particles, termperature inactivation profiles, and electrophoretic analyses of major virion proteins and genomic DNA were used in the comparison and initial characterization of these phages. The four phages studied possessed polyhedral heads and long tails; genomes were linear double-stranded DNA molecules, 35 to 45 kilobases in length, which probably contain cohesive ends. Transfection of Thermomonospora protoplasts with purified genomic DNA from one of the phages was demonstrated.

Cyclic AMP levels during induction and repression of cellulase biosynthesis in Thermomonospora curvata

Specific cellulase production rates (SCPR) were compared with intracellular cyclic AMP (cAMP) levels in the thermophilic actinomycete, Thermomonospora curvata, during growth on several carbon sources in a chemically defined medium. SCPR and cAMP levels were 0.03 U (endoglucanase [EG] units) and 2 pmol per mg of dry cells, respectively, during exponential growth on glucose. These values increased to about 6 and 25, respectively, during growth on cellulose. Detectable EG production ceased when cAMP levels dropped below 10. Cellobiose (usually considered to be a cellulase inducer) caused a sharp decrease in cAMP levels and repressed EG production when added to cellulose-grown cultures. 2-deoxy-D-glucose, although nonmetabolizable in T. curvata, depressed cAMP to levels observed with glucose, but unlike glucose, the 2DG effect persisted until cells were washed and transferred to fresh medium. SCPR values and cAMP levels in cells grown in continuous culture under conditions of cellobiose limitation were markedly influenced by dilution rate (D). The maxima for both occurred at D = 0.085 (culture generation time of 11.8 h). When D was held constant and cellobiose concentration was increased over a 14-fold range to support higher steady state population levels, SCPR values decreased about fivefold, indicating that extracellular catabolite accumulation may be a factor in EG repression. The role of cAMP in the mechanism of this repression appears to be neither simple nor direct, since large changes (up to 200-fold) in SCPR accompany relatively small changes (10-fold) in cellular cAMP levels.

Cellulase biosynthesis in a catabolite repression-resistant mutant of Thermomonospora curvata

A catabolite repression-resistant mutant of the thermophilic actinomycete Thermomonospora curvata was obtained by treatment with ethyl methanesulfonate and UV light. Cellulase biosynthesis was undiminished by glucose, 2-deoxyglucose, or alpha-methyl glucoside, which are potent repressors in the wild type. Intracellular cyclic AMP levels were higher in the mutant in both the absence and the presence of repressors.

Effect of municipal refuse metals on cellulase production by Thermomonospora curvata

The high-concentration metals in municipal refuse compost were tested for effects on cellulase production and activity in Thermomonospora curvata. Although none altered cellulase reaction rates, both Al and Ca appeared to specifically inhibit cellulase production.

Production, purification, and characterization of alpha-amylase from Thermomonospora curvata

Thermomonospora curvata produces an extracellular alpha-amylase. Maximal amylase production by cultures in a starch-mineral salts medium occurred at pH 7.5 and 53 degrees C. The crude enzyme was unstable to heating (65 degrees C) at pH 4 to 6, and was activated when heated at pH 8. The enzyme was purified 66-fold with a 9% yield and appeared homogeneous on discontinuous gel electrophoresis. The pH and temperature optima for activity of the purified enzyme were 5.5 to 6.0 and 65 degrees C. The molecular weight was calculated to be 62,000. The Km for starch was 0.39 mg/ml. The amylolytic pattern consisted of a mixture of maltotetraose and maltopentaose.

Amylase production by thermomonospora curvata

Thermomonospora curvata produces an extracellular inducible amylase which does not accumulate products repressive to cellulase production during growth on starch-cellulose ratios similar to those of compost.