Characterization of endo-β-mannanase from Enterobacter ludwigii MY271 and application in pulp industry

Chimeric enzymes in the pulp and paper making industry: Current developments

The pulp and paper (P&P) industry plays a vital role in supporting the social and economic progress of a country by supplying essential commodities. Conventional P&P processing often consumes significant energy and use chemical agents to produce hazardous intermediates. The use of enzymes in the P&P industry has significantly reduced both the chemical and energy demands during processing. A variety of enzyme combination cocktails are used to perform multiple functions in a single step, but often fail to operate synergistically because of significant differences in operational conditions. This lack of synergy under various operating conditions highlights the need for engineered chimeric enzymes. Moreover, enzyme engineering approaches enable enzymes to perform catalysis in sub-optimal environment. Enzymes have been engineered to improve their catalytic properties and enhance operational stability. Designing multifunctional or chimeric enzymes can function simultaneously across diverse operational conditions. Chimeric enzymes enable effective synergistic action of multiple enzymes in the P&P industry. This review aims to provide clear insights into the selective development of chimeric enzymes using enzyme engineering approaches for their effective use in the P&P industry.

A rumen-derived bifunctional glucanase/mannanase uncanonically releases oligosaccharides with a high degree of polymerization preferentially from branched substrates

Glycoside hydrolases (GHs) are known to depolymerize polysaccharides into oligo-/mono-saccharides, they are extensively used as additives for both animals feed and our food. Here we reported the characterization of IDSGH5-14(CD), a weakly-acidic mesophilic bifunctional mannanase/glucanase of GH5, originally isolated from sheep rumen microbes. Biochemical characterization studies revealed that IDSGH5-14(CD) exhibited preferential hydrolysis of mannan-like and glucan-like substrates. Interestingly, the enzyme exhibited significantly robust catalytic activity towards branched-substrates compared to linear polysaccharides (P < 0.05). Substrate hydrolysis pattern indicated that IDSGH5-14(CD) predominantly liberated oligosaccharides with a degree of polymerization (DP) of 3-7 as the end products, dramatically distinct from canonical endo-acting enzymes. Comparative modeling revealed that IDSGH5-14(CD) was mainly comprised of a (β/α)8-barrel-like structure with a spacious catalytic cleft on surface, facilitating the enzyme to target high-DP or branched oligosaccharides. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations further suggested that the branched-ligand, 64-α-D-galactosyl-mannohexose, was steadily accommodated within the catalytic pocket via a two-sided clamp formed by the aromatic residues. This study first reports a bifunctional GH5 enzyme that predominantly generates high-DP oligosaccharides, preferentially from branched-substrates. This provides novel insights into the catalytic mechanism and molecular underpinnings of polysaccharide depolymerization, with potential implications for feed additive development and high-DP oligosaccharides preparation.

Thermophilic β-mannanases from bacteria: production, resources, structural features and bioengineering strategies

β-mannanases are pivotal enzymes that cleave the mannan backbone to release short chain mannooligosaccharides, which have tremendous biotechnological applications including food/feed, prebiotics and biofuel production. Due to the high temperature conditions in many industrial applications, thermophilic mannanases seem to have great potential to overcome the thermal impediments. Thus, structural analysis of thermostable β-mannanases is extremely important, as it could open up new avenues for genetic engineering, and protein engineering of these enzymes with enhanced properties and catalytic efficiencies. Under this scope, the present review provides a state-of-the-art discussion on the thermophilic β-mannanases from bacterial origin, their production, engineering and structural characterization. It covers broad insights into various molecular biology techniques such as gene mutagenesis, heterologous gene expression, and protein engineering, that are employed to improve the catalytic efficiency and thermostability of bacterial mannanases for potential industrial applications. Further, the bottlenecks associated with mannanase production and process optimization are also discussed. Finally, future research related to bioengineering of mannanases with novel protein expression systems for commercial applications are also elaborated.

Study on coffee quality improvement by self-induced anaerobic fermentation: Microbial diversity and enzymatic activity

The postharvest fermentation process of coffee has rapidly advanced in the last few years due to the search for quality and diversity of sensorial profiles. A new type of fermentation, named self-induced-anaerobic fermentation (SIAF), is a promising process that has been increasingly used. This study aims to evaluate the sensorial improvement of coffee beverages during SIAF and the influence of microorganism's community and enzymatic activity. The SIAF process was conducted in Brazilian farms for up to 8 days. The sensorial quality of coffee was evaluated by Q-graders; the microbial community was identified by the high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA and ITS regions; and the enzymatic activity (invertase, polygalacturonase, and endo-β-mannanase) was also investigated. SIAF increased up to 3.8 points in the total score of sensorial evaluation (compared to the non-fermented sample), in addition to presenting more flavor diversity (especially within the fruity and sweetness descriptors). The high-throughput sequencing identified 655 bacterial and 296 fungal species during the three processes. The bacteria Enterobacter sp., Lactobacillus sp., Pantoea sp., and the fungi Cladosporium sp. and Candida sp. were the predominant genera. Fungi that are potential producers of mycotoxin were identified throughout the process, which indicates a risk of contamination since some of them are not degraded in the roasting process. Thirty-one species of microorganisms were described for the first time in coffee fermentation. The microbial community was influenced by the place where the process was carried out, mainly in relation to the diversity of fungi. Washing the coffee fruits before fermenting led to a fast reduction of pH; a fast development of Lactobacillus sp. and a fast dominance of Candida sp.; a reduction of the fermentation time necessary to achieve the best sensorial score; an increase in the invertase activity in the seed; a more expressive invertase activity in the husk; and a decreasing trend in polygalacturonase activity in the coffee husk. The increase in endo-β-mannanase activity suggests that coffee starts germinating during the process. SIAF has a huge potential to increase the quality and add value to coffee, but further studies must be conducted to access its safety. The study allowed a better knowledge of the spontaneous microbial community and the enzymes that were present in the fermentation process.

Co-production of schizophyllan and cellulolytic enzymes from bagasse by Schizophyllum commune

Schizophyllum commune is a mushroom-forming fungus well-known for its ability to degrade lignocellulosic materials and production of schizophyllan, a high added-value product for cosmeceutical, pharmaceutical and biomaterial industries. Conventionally, schizophyllan is produced by submerged fermentation using glucose as carbon source. In this work, we demonstrate that alkaline pretreated bagasse can be used by Schizophyllum commune as an alternative carbon source for the production of schizophyllan. The influence of different factors was investigated including cultivation time, biomass loading, and culturing media component and a co-product correlation model was proposed. In this lab-scale study, a yield of 4.4 g/L of schizophyllan containing 89% glucose was achieved. In addition to schizophyllan, the cellulolytic enzymes co-produced during this process were isolated and characterized and could find applications in a range of industrial processes. This demonstrates the potential of using agricultural waste as a cheaper alternative feedstock for this biorefinery process.

Crystallization, structural characterization and kinetic analysis of a GH26 β-mannanase from Klebsiella oxytoca KUB-CW2-3

β-Mannanase (EC 3.2.1.78) is an enzyme that cleaves within the backbone of mannan-based polysaccharides at β-1,4-linked D-mannose residues, resulting in the formation of mannooligosaccharides (MOS), which are potential prebiotics. The GH26 β-mannanase KMAN from Klebsiella oxytoca KUB-CW2-3 shares 49-72% amino-acid sequence similarity with β-mannanases from other sources. The crystal structure of KMAN at a resolution of 2.57 Å revealed an open cleft-shaped active site. The enzyme structure is based on a (β/α)₈-barrel architecture, which is a typical characteristic of clan A glycoside hydrolase enzymes. The putative catalytic residues Glu183 and Glu282 are located on the loop connected to β-strand 4 and at the end of β-strand 7, respectively. KMAN digests linear MOS with a degree of polymerization (DP) of between 4 and 6, with high catalytic efficiency (k_cat/K_m) towards DP6 (2571.26 min^-1 mM^-1). The predominant end products from the hydrolysis of locust bean gum, konjac glucomannan and linear MOS are mannobiose and mannotriose. It was observed that KMAN requires at least four binding sites for the binding of substrate molecules and hydrolysis. Molecular docking of mannotriose and galactosyl-mannotetraose to KMAN confirmed its mode of action, which prefers linear substrates to branched substrates.

Purification and Characterization of Mannanase from Aspergillus awamori for Fruit Juice Clarification

BACKGROUND

Fruit juice clarification is a challenging aspect of beverage industry which needs to be addressed for economical and hygienic production of fruit juices.

OBJECTIVE

Current study is focused on the complete purification, characterization and thermodynamic analysis of an efficient mannanase enzyme to analyze its applicability in biological clarification fruit juice.

METHODS

Mannanase production using Aspergillus awamori IIB037 in a 25 L stirred fermenter at pre optimized reaction conditions was carried out. Enzyme purification was carried out via series of steps. Characterization of enzyme along with kinetics and thermodynamic studies was conducted. Purified and characterized enzyme was assessed for its applicability in fruit juice clarification through clarification experiments on fresh apple juice.

RESULTS

Purification fold of 3.98 was obtained along with 86.80% purification yield of mannanase with specific activity of 158.16 U/mg. The molecular size of purified enzyme was determined as 66 kDa. The enzyme depicted 56% residual activity at 60°C after 8 hrs. Thermodynamic studies of an enzyme revealed enthalpy of activation (ΔH) and activation energy (Ea) as 30.53KJ/mol, 27.76KJ/mol, respectively. The enzyme activity increased in the presence of ß-mercaptoethanol surprisingly. On the other hand, methyl alcohol, ethanol, Hg2+ and Cu2+ inhibited enzyme activity. The enzyme showed Km and Vmax values of 11.07 mM and 19.08 μM min-1 for Locust Bean Gum (LBG) under optimal conditions. Juice treated with mannanase showed decrease in absorbance and increase in reducing sugar content.

CONCLUSION

The current study demonstrated that mannanase from Aspergillus awamori in its purified form has significant characteristics to be employed industrially for juice clarification.

Applications of Microbial β-Mannanases

Mannans are main components of hemicellulosic fraction of softwoods and they are present widely in plant tissues. β-mannanases are the major mannan-degrading enzymes and are produced by different plants, animals, actinomycetes, fungi, and bacteria. These enzymes can function under conditions of wide range of pH and temperature. Applications of β-mannanases have therefore, been found in different industries such as animal feed, food, biorefinery, textile, detergent, and paper and pulp. This review summarizes the most recent studies reported on potential applications of β-mannanases and bioengineering of β-mannanases to modify and optimize their key catalytic properties to cater to growing demands of commercial sectors.

Biobleaching: An eco-friendly approach to reduce chemical consumption and pollutants generation

The pulp and paper industry is known to be a large contributor to environmental pollution due to the huge consumption of chemicals and energy. Several chemicals including H2SO4, Cl2, ClO2, NaOH, and H2O2 are used during the bleaching process. These chemicals react with lignin and carbohydrates to generate a substantial amount of pollutants in bleach effluents. Environmental pressure has compelled the pulp and paper industry to reduce pollutant generation from the bleaching section. Enzymes have emerged as simple, economical, and eco-friendly alternatives for bleaching of pulp. The pretreatment of pulp with enzymes is termed as biobleaching or pre-bleaching. Different microbial enzymes such as xylanases, pectinases, laccases, manganese peroxidases (MnP), and lignin peroxidases are used for biobleaching. Xylanases depolymerize the hemicelluloses precipitated on pulp fiber surfaces and improves the efficiency of bleaching chemicals. Xylanase treatment also increases the pulp fibrillation and reduces the beating time of the pulp. Pectinases hydrolyze pectin available in the pulp fibers and improve the papermaking process. Laccase treatment is found more effective along with mediator molecules (as a laccase-mediator system). Biobleaching of pulp results in the superior quality of pulp along with lower consumption of chlorine-based chemicals and lower generation of adsorbable organic halidesadsorbable organic halides (AOX. An enzyme pretreatment reduces the kappa number of pulp and improves ISO brightness significantly. Better physical strength properties and pulp viscosity have also been observed during biobleaching of pulp.

Expression, Characterization and Structure Analysis of a New GH26 Endo-β-1, 4-Mannanase (Man26E) from Enterobacter aerogenes B19

β-mannanase is one of the key enzymes to hydrolyze hemicellulose. At present, most β-mannanases are not widely applied because of their low enzyme activity and unsuitable enzymatic properties. In this work, a new β-mannanase from Enterobacter aerogenes was studied, which laid the foundation for its further application. Additionally, we will further perform directed evolution of the enzyme to increase its activity, improve its temperature and pH properties to allow it more applications in industry. A new β-mannanase (Man26E) from Enterobacter aerogenes was successfully expressed in Escherichia coli. Man26E showed about 40 kDa on SDS-PAGE gel. The SWISS-MODEL program was used to model the tertiary structure of Man26E, which presented a core (α/β)8-barrel catalytic module. Based on the binding pattern of CjMan26 C, Man26E docking Gal1Man4 was investigated. The catalytic region consisted of a surface containing four solvent-exposed aromatic rings, many hydrophilic and charged residues. Man26E displayed the highest activity at pH 6.0 and 55 °C, and high acid and alkali stability in a wide pH range (pH 4–10) and thermostability from 40 to 50 °C. The enzyme showed the highest activity on locust bean gum, and the Km and Vmax were 7.16 mg mL−1 and 508 U mg−1, respectively. This is the second β-mannanase reported from Enterobacter aerogenes B19. The β-mannanase displayed high enzyme activity, a relatively high catalytic temperature and a broad range of catalytic pH values. The enzyme catalyzed both polysaccharides and manno-oligosaccharides.

Expression, homology modeling and enzymatic characterization of a new β-mannanase belonging to glycoside hydrolase family 1 from Enterobacter aerogenes B19

BACKGROUND

β-mannanase can hydrolyze β-1,4 glycosidic bond of mannan by the manner of endoglycosidase to generate mannan-oligosaccharides. Currently, β-mannanase has been widely applied in food, medicine, textile, paper and petroleum exploitation industries. β-mannanase is widespread in various organisms, however, microorganisms are the main source of β-mannanases. Microbial β-mannanases display wider pH range, temperature range and better thermostability, acid and alkali resistance, and substrate specificity than those from animals and plants. Therefore microbial β-mannanases are highly valued by researchers. Recombinant bacteria constructed by gene engineering and modified by protein engineering have been widely applied to produce β-mannanase, which shows more advantages than traditional microbial fermentation in various aspects.

RESULTS

A β-mannanase gene (Man1E), which encoded 731 amino acid residues, was cloned from Enterobacter aerogenes. Man1E was classified as Glycoside Hydrolase family 1. The bSiteFinder prediction showed that there were eight essential residues in the catalytic center of Man1E as Trp166, Trp168, Asn229, Glu230, Tyr281, Glu309, Trp341 and Lys374. The catalytic module and carbohydrate binding module (CBM) of Man1E were homologously modeled. Superposition analysis and molecular docking revealed the residues located in the catalytic module of Man1E and the CBM of Man1E. The recombinant enzyme was successfully expressed, purified, and detected about 82.5 kDa by SDS-PAGE. The optimal reaction condition was 55 °C and pH 6.5. The enzyme exhibited high stability below 60 °C, and in the range of pH 3.5-8.5. The β-mannanase activity was activated by low concentration of Co²⁺, Mn²⁺, Zn²⁺, Ba²⁺ and Ca²⁺. Man1E showed the highest affinity for Locust bean gum (LBG). The K_m and V_max values for LBG were 3.09 ± 0.16 mg/mL and 909.10 ± 3.85 μmol/(mL min), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

A new type of β-mannanase with high activity from E. aerogenes is heterologously expressed and characterized. The enzyme belongs to an unreported β-mannanase family (CH1 family). It displays good pH and temperature features and excellent catalysis capacity for LBG and KGM. This study lays the foundation for future application and molecular modification to improve its catalytic efficiency and substrate specificity.

Combinatorial Biobleaching of Mixedwood Pulp with Lignolytic and Hemicellulolytic Enzymes for Paper Making

Microbial enzymes are the safe alternatives to chemical based bleaching of pulp in paper mills. For effective biobleaching, both hemicellulolytic and lignolytic enzymes are required. This study reports laccase (L) + xylanase (X) and laccase (L) + mannanase (M) enzyme concoctions for pulp biobleaching derived from Bacillus sp. LX and Bacillus sp. LM isolated from the decaying organic matter. All enzymes were thermo-alkali-stable, hence were suitable for their application in pulp biobleaching. When a mixture of L + X/L + M was used for mixedwood pulp biobleaching, 46.32/40.25% reduction in kappa number; 13.21/10.01% and 3.36/2.76% improvement in brightness and whiteness was achieved respectively. Moreover, no laccase mediator system was required in the current process. Significant changes in the structure of enzymatically treated pulp were also observed. All these properties make these concoctions of enzymes suitable for their application in pulp and paper mill.

Enzymatic Biotransformation of Ginsenoside Rb2 into Rd by Recombinant α-L-Arabinopyranosidase from Blastococcus saxobsidens

In this study, we used a novel α-L-arabinopyranosidase (AbpBs) obtained from ginsenoside-converting Blastococcus saxobsidens that was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3), and then applied it in the biotransformation of ginsenoside Rb₂ into Rd. The gene, termed AbpBs, consisting of 2,406 nucleotides (801 amino acid residues), and with a predicted translated protein molecular mass of 86.4 kDa, was cloned into a pGEX4T-1 vector. A BLAST search using the AbpBs amino acid sequence revealed significant homology with a family 2 glycoside hydrolase (GH2). The over-expressed recombinant AbpBs in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) catalyzed the hydrolysis of the arabinopyranose moiety attached to the C-20 position of ginsenoside Rb2 under optimal conditions (pH 7.0 and 40°;C). Kinetic parameters for α-Larabinopyranosidase showed apparent K_m and V_max values of 0.078 ± 0.0002 micrometer and 1.4 ± 0.1 μmol/min/mg of protein against p-nitrophenyl-α-L-arabinopyranoside. Using a purified AbpBs (1 μg/ml), 0.1% of ginsenoside Rb₂ was completely converted to ginsenoside Rd within 1 h. The recombinant AbpBs could be useful for high-yield, rapid, and low-cost preparation of ginsenoside Rd from Rb₂.

Modulating cell culture oxidative stress reduces protein glycation and acidic charge variant formation

Controlling acidic charge variants is critical for an industrial bioprocess due to the potential impact on therapeutic efficacy and safety. Achieving a consistent charge variant profile at manufacturing scale remains challenging and may require substantial resources to investigate effective control strategies. This is partially due to incomplete understanding of the underlying causes for charge variant formation during the cell culture process. To address this gap, we examined the effects of four process input factors (temperature, iron concentration, feed media age, and antioxidant (rosmarinic acid) concentration) on charge variant profile. These factors were found to affect the charge profile by modulating the cell culture oxidative state. Process conditions with higher acidic peaks corresponded to elevated supernatant peroxide concentration, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, or both. Changes in glycation level were the primary cause of the charge heterogeneity, and for the first time, supernatant peroxide was found to positively correlate with glycation levels. Based on these findings, a novel mathematical model was developed to demonstrate that the rate of acidic species formation was exponentially proportional to the concentrations of supernatant peroxide and protein product. This work provides critical insights into charge variant formation during the cell culture process and highlights the importance of modulating of cell culture oxidative stress for charge variant control.

Directed evolution of a β-mannanase from Rhizomucor miehei to improve catalytic activity in acidic and thermophilic conditions

BACKGROUND

β-Mannanase randomly cleaves the β-1,4-linked mannan backbone of hemicellulose, which plays the most important role in the enzymatic degradation of mannan. Although the industrial applications of β-mannanase have tremendously expanded in recent years, the wild-type β-mannanases are still defective for some industries. The glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 5 β-mannanase (RmMan5A) from Rhizomucor miehei shows many outstanding properties, such as high specific activity and hydrolysis property. However, owing to the low catalytic activity in acidic and thermophilic conditions, the application of RmMan5A to the biorefinery of mannan biomasses is severely limited.

RESULTS

To overcome the limitation, RmMan5A was successfully engineered by directed evolution. Through two rounds of screening, a mutated β-mannanase (mRmMan5A) with high catalytic activity in acidic and thermophilic conditions was obtained, and then characterized. The mutant displayed maximal activity at pH 4.5 and 65 °C, corresponding to acidic shift of 2.5 units in optimal pH and increase by 10 °C in optimal temperature. The catalytic efficiencies (k_cat/K_m) of mRmMan5A towards many mannan substrates were enhanced more than threefold in acidic and thermophilic conditions. Meanwhile, the high specific activity and excellent hydrolysis property of RmMan5A were inherited by the mutant mRmMan5A after directed evolution. According to the result of sequence analysis, three amino acid residues were substituted in mRmMan5A, namely Tyr233His, Lys264Met, and Asn343Ser. To identify the function of each substitution, four site-directed mutations (Tyr233His, Lys264Met, Asn343Ser, and Tyr233His/Lys264Met) were subsequently generated, and the substitutions at Tyr233 and Lys264 were found to be the main reason for the changes of mRmMan5A.

CONCLUSIONS

Through directed evolution of RmMan5A, two key amino acid residues that controlled its catalytic efficiency under acidic and thermophilic conditions were identified. Information about the structure-function relationship of GH family 5 β-mannanase was acquired, which could be used for modifying β-mannanases to enhance the feasibility in industrial application, especially in biorefinery process. This is the first report on a β-mannanase from zygomycete engineered by directed evolution.