A novel xylanase, XynA4-2, from thermoacidophilic Alicyclobacillus sp. A4 with potential applications in the brewing industry

Studies on the degradation pattern of wheat malt endo-1,4-β-xylanase on wheat-derived arabinoxylans

BACKGROUND

Wheat malt endo-1,4-β-xylanase is a key enzyme for arabinoxylan degradation, but its wheat-derived arabinoxylan degradation pattern is unclear.

RESULTS

Water-extractable arabinoxylan (WEAX) of 300-750 kDa and 30-100 kDa were the two components with the highest degradation efficiency of wheat malt endo-1,4-β-xylanase, followed by > 1000 kDa WEAX, but 100-300 kDa WEAX showed the lowest degradation efficiency. The main enzymatic products were the 5-30 kDa WEAX, which accounted for 57.57%, 68.15%, and 52.28% of WAXH, WAXM, and WAXL products, respectively. The enzymatic efficiency of wheat malt endo-1,4-β-xylanase was relatively high, and the continuity of enzymatic efficiency was good, especially since the enzymatic reaction was the most intense in 1-3 h. WEAX of > 300 kDa was highly significant and positively correlated with viscosity. In comparison, WEAX of < 30 kDa was highly significant and negatively correlated with viscosity. As the enzymatic degradation proceeded, there were fewer and fewer macromolecular components but more and more small molecule components, and the system viscosity became smaller and smaller.

CONCLUSION

In this study, it was found that wheat malt endo-1,4-β-xylanase degraded preferentially 300-750 kDa and 30-100 kDa WEAX, not in the order of substrate size in a sequential enzymatic degradation. Wheat malt endo-1,4-β-xylanase was most efficient within 3 h, primarily generating < 30 kDa WEAX ultimately. The main products were highly significantly negatively correlated with the system viscosity, so that the system viscosity gradually decreased as the enzymatic hydrolysis proceeded. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

High-level expression and enzymatic properties of a novel thermostable xylanase with high arabinoxylan degradation ability from Chaetomium sp. suitable for beer mashing

A novel thermostable xylanase gene from Chaetomium sp. CQ31 was cloned and codon-optimized (CsXynBop). The deduced protein sequence of the gene shared the highest similarity of 75% with the glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 10 xylanase from Achaetomium sp. Xz-8. CsXynBop was over-expressed in Pichia pastoris GS115 by high-cell density fermentation, with the highest xylanase yield of 10,017 U/mL. The recombinant xylanase (CsXynBop) was purified to homogeneity and biochemically characterized. CsXynBop was optimally active at pH 6.5 and 85 °C, respectively, and stable over a broad pH range of 5.0-9.5 and up to 60 °C. The enzyme exhibited strict substrate specificity towards oat-spelt xylan (2, 489 U/mg), beechwood xylan (1522 U/mg), birchwood xylan (1067 U/mg), and showed relatively high activity towards arabinoxylan (1208 U/mg), but exhibited no activity on other tested polysaccharides. CsXynBop hydrolyzed different xylans to yield mainly xylooligosaccharides (XOSs) with degree of polymerization (DP) 2-5. The application of CsXynBop (200 U/g malt) in malt mashing substantially decreased the filtration time and viscosity of malt by 42.3% and 8.6%, respectively. These excellent characteristics of CsXynBop may make it a good candidate in beer industry.

Thermophilic Degradation of Hemicellulose, a Critical Feedstock in the Production of Bioenergy and Other Value-Added Products

Renewable fuels have gained importance as the world moves toward diversifying its energy portfolio. A critical step in the biomass-to-bioenergy initiative is deconstruction of plant cell wall polysaccharides to their unit sugars for subsequent fermentation to fuels. To acquire carbon and energy for their metabolic processes, diverse microorganisms have evolved genes encoding enzymes that depolymerize polysaccharides to their carbon/energy-rich building blocks. The microbial enzymes mostly target the energy present in cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectin, three major forms of energy storage in plants. In the effort to develop bioenergy as an alternative to fossil fuel, a common strategy is to harness microbial enzymes to hydrolyze cellulose to glucose for fermentation to fuels. However, the conversion of plant biomass to renewable fuels will require both cellulose and hemicellulose, the two largest components of the plant cell wall, as feedstock to improve economic feasibility. Here, we explore the enzymes and strategies evolved by two well-studied bacteria to depolymerize the hemicelluloses xylan/arabinoxylan and mannan. The sets of enzymes, in addition to their applications in biofuels and value-added chemical production, have utility in animal feed enzymes, a rapidly developing industry with potential to minimize adverse impacts of animal agriculture on the environment.

Insight into glycoside hydrolases for debranched xylan degradation from extremely thermophilic bacterium Caldicellulosiruptor lactoaceticus

Caldicellulosiruptor lactoaceticus 6A, an anaerobic and extremely thermophilic bacterium, uses natural xylan as carbon source. The encoded genes of C. lactoaceticus 6A for glycoside hydrolase (GH) provide a platform for xylan degradation. The GH family 10 xylanase (Xyn10A) and GH67 α-glucuronidase (Agu67A) from C. lactoaceticus 6A were heterologously expressed, purified and characterized. Both Xyn10A and Agu67A are predicted as intracellular enzymes as no signal peptides identified. Xyn10A and Agu67A had molecular weight of 47.0 kDa and 80.0 kDa respectively as determined by SDS-PAGE, while both appeared as homodimer when analyzed by gel filtration. Xyn10A displayed the highest activity at 80 °C and pH 6.5, as 75 °C and pH 6.5 for Agu67A. Xyn10A had good stability at 75 °C, 80 °C, and pH 4.5-8.5, respectively, and was sensitive to various metal ions and reagents. Xyn10A possessed hydrolytic activity towards xylo-oligosaccharides (XOs) and beechwood xylan. At optimum conditions, the specific activity of Xyn10A was 44.6 IU/mg with beechwood xylan as substrate, and liberated branched XOs, xylobiose, and xylose. Agu67A was active on branched XOs with methyl-glucuronic acids (MeGlcA) sub-chains, and primarily generated XOs equivalents and MeGlcA. The specific activity of Agu67A was 1.3 IU/mg with aldobiouronic acid as substrate. The synergistic action of Xyn10A and Agu67A was observed with MeGlcA branched XOs and xylan as substrates, both backbone and branched chain of substrates were degraded, and liberated xylose, xylobiose, and MeGlcA. The synergism of Xyn10A and Agu67A provided not only a thermophilic method for natural xylan degradation, but also insight into the mechanisms for xylan utilization of C. lactoaceticus.

Microbial heterotrophic production in an oligotrophic acidic geothermal lake: responses to organic amendments and terrestrial plant litter

Boiling Springs Lake (BSL) is an oligotrophic, acidic geothermal feature where even very low levels of microbial heterotrophic production still exceed autotrophy. To test whether allochthonous leaf litter (LL) inputs fuel this excess, we quantified leaf litterfall, leaching and decomposition kinetics, and measured the impact of organic amendments on production, germination and cell growth, using pyrosequencing to track changes in microbial community composition. Coniferous leaves in BSL exhibited high mass loss rates during leaching and decomposition, likely due to a combination of chemical hydrolysis and contributions of both introduced and endemic microbes. We measured very low in situ (3)H-thymidine incorporation over hours by the dominant chemolithotroph Acidimicrobium (13-65 μg C L(-1) day(-1)), which was inhibited by simple C sources (acetate, glucose). Longer term incubations with additions of 0.01-0.02% complex C/N sources induced germination of the Firmicute Alicyclobacillus within 1-2 days, as well as growth of Acetobacteraceae after 3-4 days. LL additions yielded the opposite successional patterns of these r-selected heterotrophs, boosting production to 30-150 μg C L(-1) day(-1). Growth and germination studies suggest both prokaryotes and fungi likely consume allochthonous organics, and might be novel sources of lignocellulose-degrading enzymes. A model of BSL's C budget supports the hypothesis that allochthonous inputs fuel seasonal microbial heterotrophy, but that dissolved organic C sources greatly exceed direct LL inputs.