NaCl-, protease-tolerant and cold-active endoglucanase from Paenibacillus sp. YD236 isolated from the feces of Bos frontalis

Lignocellulolytic extremozymes and their biotechnological applications

Lignocellulolytic enzymes are used in different industrial and environmental processes. The rigorous operating circumstances of these industries, however, might prevent these enzymes from performing as intended. On the other side, extremozymes are enzymes produced by extremophiles that can function in extremely acidic or basic; hot or cold; under high or low salinity conditions. These severe conditions might denature the normal enzymes that are produced by mesophilic microorganisms. The increased stability of these enzymes has been contributed to a number of conformational modifications in their structures. These modifications may result from a few amino acid substitutions, an improved hydrophobic core, the existence of extra ion pairs and salt bridges, an increase in compactness, or an increase in positively charged amino acids. These enzymes are the best option for industrial and bioremediation activities that must be carried out under difficult conditions due to their improved stability. The review, therefore, discusses lignocellulolytic extremozymes, their structure and mechanisms along with industrial and biotechnological applications.

Papermaking wastewater treatment coupled to 2,3-butanediol production by engineered psychrotrophic Raoultella terrigena

The simultaneous bioremediation and bioconversion of papermaking wastewater by psychrotrophic microorganisms holds great promise for developing sustainable environments and economies in cold regions. Here, the psychrotrophic bacterium Raoultella terrigena HC6 presented high endoglucanase (26.3 U/mL), xylosidase (732 U/mL), and laccase (8.07 U/mL) activities for lignocellulose deconstruction at 15 °C. mRNA monitoring and phenotypic variation analyses confirmed that cold-inducible cold shock protein A (CspA) facilitated the expression of the cel208, xynB68, and lac432 genes to increase the enzyme activities in strain HC6. Furthermore, the cspA gene-overexpressing mutant (strain HC6-cspA) was deployed in actual papermaking wastewater and achieved 44.3%, 34.1%, 18.4%, 80.2% and 100% removal rates for cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, COD, and NO3--N at 15 °C. Simultaneously, 2,3-butanediol (2,3-BD) was produced from the effluent with a titer of 2.98 g/L and productivity of 0.154 g/L/h. This study reveals an association between the cold regulon and lignocellulolytic enzymes and provides a promising candidate for simultaneous papermaking wastewater treatment and 2,3-BD production.

Genome Analysis of a Novel Polysaccharide-Degrading Bacterium Paenibacillus algicola and Determination of Alginate Lyases

Carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) are an important characteristic of bacteria in marine systems. We herein describe the CAZymes of Paenibacillus algicola HB172198^T, a novel type species isolated from brown algae in Qishui Bay, Hainan, China. The genome of strain HB172198^T is a 4,475,055 bp circular chromosome with an average GC content of 51.2%. Analysis of the nucleotide sequences of the predicted genes shows that strain HB172198^T encodes 191 CAZymes. Abundant putative enzymes involved in the degradation of polysaccharides were identified, such as alginate lyase, agarase, carrageenase, xanthanase, xylanase, amylases, cellulase, chitinase, fucosidase and glucanase. Four of the putative polysaccharide lyases from families 7, 15 and 38 were involved in alginate degradation. The alginate lyases of strain HB172198^T exhibited the maximum activity 152 U/mL at 50 °C and pH 8.0, and were relatively stable at pH 7.0 and temperatures lower than 40 °C. The average degree of polymerization (DP) of the sodium alginate oligosaccharide (AOS) degraded by the partially purified alginate lyases remained around 14.2, and the thin layer chromatography (TCL) analysis indicated that it contained DP2-DP8 oligosaccharides. The complete genome sequence of P. algicola HB172198^T will enrich our knowledge of the mechanism of polysaccharide lyase production and provide insights into its potential applications in the degradation of polysaccharides such as alginate.

Paenibacillus agri sp. nov., isolated from soil

A strict aerobic bacterium, strain JW14^T was isolated from soil in the Republic of Korea. Cells were Gram-stain-positive, non-endospore-forming and motile rods showing catalase-positive and oxidase-negative activities. Growth of strain JW14^T was observed at 20-37 °C (optimum, 30 °C), pH 6.0-10.0 (optimum, pH 7.0) and in the presence of 0-2.0% NaCl (optimum, 0%). Strain JW14^T contained menaquinone-7 as the sole isoprenoid quinone, anteiso-C_15:0, C_16:0 and iso-C_{16 : 0} as the major fatty acids (>10.0%), and diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, three unidentified aminophospholipids and an unidentified lipid as the major polar lipids. The cell-wall peptidoglycan of strain JW14^T contained meso-diaminopimelic acid. The DNA G+C content of strain JW14^T calculated from the whole genome sequence was 48.1 mol%. Strain JW14^T was most closely related to Paenibacillus graminis DSM 15220^T with 97.4% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain JW14^T formed a distinct phyletic lineage from closely related type strains within the genus Paenibacillus. Based on the results of phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and molecular analyses, strain JW14^T represents a novel species of the genus Paenibacillus, for which the name Paenibacillus agri sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is JW14^T (=KACC 21840^T=JCM 34279^T).

Optimized soluble expression of a novel endoglucanase from Burkholderia pyrrocinia in Escherichia coli

Burkholderia pyrrocinia B1213, a novel microbe isolated from a Baijiu-producing environment, displayed strong cellulolytic activity on agar plates with glucan as the carbon source and had an activity of 674.5 U/mL after culturing with barley. Genome annotation of B. pyrrocinia identificated a single endoglucanase (EG)-encoding gene, designated as BpEG01790. The endoglucanase BpEG01790 shows 98.28% sequence similarity with an endo-β-1,4-glucanase (EC 3.2.1.4) from Burkholderia stabilis belonging to glycoside hydrolase family 8 (GH8). The gene BpEG01790 has an open reading frame of 1218 bp encoding a 406 amino acid (AA) residue protein (43.0 kDa) with a 40-AA signal peptide. BpEG01790 was successfully cloned into pET28a( +) with and without the signal peptide; however, attempts to overexpress this protein in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) cells using this expression system failed. BpEG01790 was also cloned into the pCold TF vector. Active BpEG01790 was successfully overexpressed with or without the signal peptide using the pCold TF vector expression system and E. coli BL21 (DE3) cells. Overexpression of recombinant BpEG01790 without the signal peptide was higher compared with the construct that included the signal peptide. Optimization of culture conditions improved the enzyme activity by 12.5-fold. This is the first report describing the heterologous soluble overexpression of an EG belonging to GH8 from B. pyrrocinia using TF as a molecular chaperone.

Paenibacillus algicola sp. nov., a novel alginate lyase-producing marine bacterium

A Gram-stain-variable, facultatively anaerobic, endospore-forming, rod-shaped bacterium, designated HB172198T, was isolated from brown alga collected at Qishui Bay, Hainan, PR China. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain HB172198T belonged to the genus Paenibacillus, and the closest phylogenetically related species was Paenibacillus lemnae NBRC 109972T (97.6% similarity). The other 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities were under 97.0%. The whole genome average nucleotide identity value between strain HB172198T and the closest type strain was 75.3% and the in silico DNA-DNA hybridization value was 20.2%. The predominant isoprenoid quinone was menaquinone 7 and the major fatty acids were anteiso-C15:0, C16:0, anteiso-C17:0, iso C16:0 and C16:1 ω11c. The combined phylogenetic relatedness, phenotypic and genotypic features supported the conclusion that strain HB172198T represents a novel species of the genus Paenibacillus, for which the name Paenibacillus algicola sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is HB172198T (=CGMCC 1.13583T=JCM 32683T).

Molecular and Biochemical Characterization of Salt-Tolerant Trehalose-6-Phosphate Hydrolases Identified by Screening and Sequencing Salt-Tolerant Clones From the Metagenomic Library of the Gastrointestinal Tract

The exploration and utilization of microbial salt-tolerant enzymatic and genetic resources are of great significance in the field of biotechnology and for the research of the adaptation of microorganisms to extreme environments. The presence of new salt-tolerant genes and enzymes in the microbial metagenomic library of the gastrointestinal tract has been confirmed through metagenomic technology. This paper aimed to identify and characterize enzymes that confer salt tolerance in the gastrointestinal tract microbe. By screening the fecal metagenomic library, 48 salt-tolerant clones were detected, of which 10 salt-tolerant clones exhibited stronger tolerance to 7% (wt/vol) NaCl and stability in different concentrations of NaCl [5%-9% (wt/vol)]. High-throughput sequencing and biological information analysis showed that 91 potential genes encoded proteins and enzymes that were widely involved in salt tolerance. Furthermore, two trehalose-6-phosphate hydrolase genes, namely, tre_P2 and tre_P3, were successfully cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). By virtue of the substrate of p-nitrophenyl-α-D-glucopyranoside (pNPG) which can be specifically hydrolyzed by trehalose-6-phosphate hydrolase to produce glucose and p-nitrophenol, the two enzymes can act optimally at pH 7.5 and 30°C. Steady-state kinetics with pNPG showed that the K _M and K _cat values were 15.63 mM and 10.04 s^-1 for rTRE_P2 and 12.51 mM and 10.71 s^-1 for rTRE_P3, respectively. Characterization of enzymatic properties demonstrated that rTRE_P2 and rTRE_P3 were salt-tolerant. The enzymatic activity increased with increasing NaCl concentration, and the maximum activities of rTRE_P2 and rTRE_P3 were obtained at 4 and 3 M NaCl, respectively. The activities of rTRE_P2 increased by approximately 43-fold even after 24 h of incubation with 5 M NaCl. This study is the first to report the identification as well as molecular and biochemical characterization of salt-tolerant trehalose-6-phosphate hydrolase from the metagenomic library of the gastrointestinal tract. Results indicate the existence of numerous salt-tolerant genes and enzymes in gastrointestinal microbes and provide new insights into the salt-tolerant mechanisms in the gastrointestinal environment.

Overexpression and biochemical characterization of a recombinant psychrophilic endocellulase from Pseudoalteromonas sp. DY3

Cold-active cellulases have received great attention for both industrial applications and fundamental research because of their high activity at low temperatures and their unique structural characters. In this study, the cold-active endoglucanase CelX from psychrotrophic Pseudoalteromonas sp. DY3 was successfully overexpressed in E. coli, partly purified and characterized in detail. CelX showed the highest activity at pH 5.5, and exhibited moderate activity and superior pH stability over a wide pH range (pH 5.0-pH 9.0). It displayed the highest activity at 45 °C, and kept 34.7% residual activity even at 5 °C. It was stable below 35 °C and lost activity very quickly above 45 °C, which is consistent with its cold adaptability. The apparent kinetic parameters CelX against CMC (carboxymethyl cellulose) were determined, with the K_m and k_cat values of 6.4 mg/ml and 4.2 s^-1 respectively. Mn²⁺ and Co²⁺ enhanced the cellulolytic activity of CelX by 28.8% and 20.6% respectively, whereas Pb²⁺ and Cu²⁺ inhibited its activity by 14.9% and 6.5% separately. The cold adaptation of CelX is possibly due to the presence of the unusually long linker between the catalytic module and the cellulose-binding domain.

Screening of alginate lyase-excreting microorganisms from the surface of brown algae

Alginate lyase is a biocatalyst that degrades alginate to produce oligosaccharides, which have many bioactive functions and could be used as renewable biofuels. Here we report a simple and sensitive plate assay for screening alginate lyase-excreting microorganisms from brown algae. Brown algae Laminaria japonica, Sargassum horneri and Sargassum siliquatrum were cultured in sterile water. Bacteria growing on the surface of seaweeds were identified and their capacity of excreting alginate lyase was analyzed. A total of 196 strains were recovered from the three different algae samples and 12 different bacterial strains were identified capable of excreting alginate lyases. Sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA gene revealed that these alginate lyase-excreting strains belong to eight genera: Paenibacillus (4/12), Bacillus (2/12), Leclercia (1/12), Isoptericola (1/12), Planomicrobium (1/12), Pseudomonas (1/12), Lysinibacillus (1/12) and Sphingomonas (1/12). Further analysis showed that the LJ-3 strain (Bacillus halosaccharovorans) had the highest enzyme activity. To our best knowledge, this is the first report regarding alginate lyase-excreting strains in Paenibacillus, Planomicrobium and Leclercia. We believe that our method used in this study is relatively easy and reliable for large-scale screening of alginate lyase-excreting microorganisms.

Overexpression of a Cellobiose-Glucose-Halotolerant Endoglucanase from Scytalidium thermophilum

Enzyme reaction products and by-products from pretreatment steps can inhibit endoglucanases and are major factors limiting the efficiency of enzymatic lignocellulosic biomass hydrolysis. The gene encoding the endoglucanase from Scytalidium thermophilum (egst) was cloned and expressed as a soluble protein in Pichia pastoris GS115. The recombinant enzyme (Egst) was monomeric (66 kDa) and showed an estimated carbohydrate content of 53.3% (w/w). The optimum temperature and pH of catalysis were 60-70 °C and pH of 5.5, respectively. The enzyme was highly stable at pH 3.0-8.0 with a half-life in water of 100 min at 65 °C. The Egst presented good halotolerance, retaining 84.1 and 71.4% of the control activity in the presence of 0.5 and 2.0 mol L^-1 NaCl, respectively. Hydrolysis of medium viscosity carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) by Egst was stimulated 1.77-, 1.84-, 1.64-, and 1.8-fold by dithiothreitol, β-mercaptoethanol, cysteine, and manganese at 10, 10, 10, and 5 mmol L^-1 concentration, respectively. The enzyme hydrolyzed CMC with maximal velocity and an apparent affinity constant of 432.10 ± 16.76 and 10.5 ± 2.53 mg mL^-1, respectively. Furthermore, the Egst was tolerant to reaction products and able to act on pretreated fractions sugarcane bagasse demonstrating excellent properties for application in the hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass.