Polysaccharide XXXIII. Über enzymatische Abbau von Kunstseide und nativer Cellulose

A comparison of two empirical models for the enzymatic hydrolysis of pretreated poplar wood

Two empirical models for the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose are used to analyze the same set of experimental data to determine if one model is superior to the other. Both models adequately describe the data. The parameters in both models may be correlated to the hydrolysis conditions of enzyme, substrate, and product inhibitor concentrations. Both empirical models have features which are consistent with theoretical models of cellulose hydrolysis.

Cellulolytic systems in insects

Despite the presence of many carbohydrolytic activities in insects, their cellulolytic mechanisms are poorly understood. Whereas cellulase genes are absent from the genomes of Drosophila melanogaster or Bombyx mori, other insects such as termites produce their own cellulases. Recent studies using molecular biological techniques have brought new insights into the mechanisms by which the insects and their microbial symbionts digest cellulose in the small intestine. DNA sequences of cellulase and associated genes, as well as physiological and morphological information about the digestive systems of cellulase-producing insects, may allow the efficient use of cellulosic biomass as a sustainable energy source.

Toward an aggregated understanding of enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose: noncomplexed cellulase systems

Information pertaining to enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose by noncomplexed cellulase enzyme systems is reviewed with a particular emphasis on development of aggregated understanding incorporating substrate features in addition to concentration and multiple cellulase components. Topics considered include properties of cellulose, adsorption, cellulose hydrolysis, and quantitative models. A classification scheme is proposed for quantitative models for enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose based on the number of solubilizing activities and substrate state variables included. We suggest that it is timely to revisit and reinvigorate functional modeling of cellulose hydrolysis, and that this would be highly beneficial if not necessary in order to bring to bear the large volume of information available on cellulase components on the primary applications that motivate interest in the subject.