Gene Cloning, Overexpression, and Characterization of a Xylanase from Penicillium sp. CGMCC 1669

Multi-copy expression of a protease-resistant xylanase with high xylan degradation ability and its application in broilers fed wheat-based diets

The acidic thermostable xylanase (AT-xynA) has great potential in the feed industry, but its low activity is not conductive to large-scale production, and its application in poultry diets still needs to be further evaluated. In Experiment1, AT-xynA activity increased 3.10 times by constructing multi-copy strains, and the highest activity reached 10,018.29 ± 91.18 U/mL. AT-xynA showed protease resistance, high specificity for xylan substrates, xylobiose and xylotriose were the main hydrolysates. In Experiment2, 192 broilers were assigned into 3 treatments including a wheat-based diet, and the diets supplemented with AT-xynA during the entire period (XY-42) or exclusively during the early stage (XY-21). AT-xynA improved growth performance, while the performance of XY-21 and XY-42 was identical. To further clarify the mechanism underlying the particular effectiveness of AT-xynA during the early stage, 128 broilers were allotted into 2 treatments including a wheat-based diet and the diet supplemented with AT-xynA for 42 d in Experiment3. AT-xynA improved intestinal digestive function and microbiota composition, the benefits were stronger in younger broilers than older ones. Overall, the activity of AT-xynA exhibiting protease resistance and high xylan degradation ability increased by constructing multi-copy strains, and AT-xynA was particularly effective in improving broiler performance during the early stage.

Cloning, Expression, and Structural Elucidation of a Biotechnologically Potential Alkaline Serine Protease From a Newly Isolated Haloalkaliphilic Bacillus lehensis JO-26

An alkaline protease gene of Bacillus lehensis JO-26 from saline desert, Little Rann of Kutch, was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). A 1,014-bp ORF encoded 337 amino acids. The recombinant protease (APrBL) with Asp 97, His 127, and Ser 280 forming catalytic triad belongs to the subtilase S8 protease family. The gene was optimally expressed in soluble fraction with 0.2 mM isopropyl β-D-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG), 2% (w/v) NaCl at 28°C. APrBL, a monomer with a molecular mass of 34.6 kDa was active over pH 8–11 and 30°C−70°C, optimally at pH 10 and 50°C. The enzyme was highly thermostable and retained 73% of the residual activity at 80°C up to 3 h. It was significantly stimulated by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), Ca²⁺, chloroform, toluene, n-butanol, and benzene while completely inhibited by phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF) and Hg²⁺. The serine nature of the protease was confirmed by its strong inhibition by PMSF. The APrBL gene was phylogenetically close to alkaline elastase YaB (P20724) and was distinct from the well-known commercial proteases subtilisin Carlsberg (CAB56500) and subtilisin BPN′ (P00782). The structural elucidation revealed 31.75% α-helices, 22.55% β-strands, and 45.70% coils. Although high glycine and fewer proline residues are a characteristic feature of the cold-adapted enzymes, the similar observation in thermally active APrBL suggests that this feature cannot be solely responsible for thermo/cold adaptation. The APrBL protease was highly effective as a detergent additive and in whey protein hydrolysis.

Optimization of production of xylanases with low cellulases in Fusarium solani by means of a solid state fermentation using statistical experimental design

Demand for fungal xylanases in industrial biotechnological processes shows a clear increase worldwide, so there is an interest in adjusting the conditions of microbial xylanases production. In this study, the ability of the fungus Fusarium solani to produce extracellular xylanases with low cellulolytic activity was optimized by Box Wilson design. The best culture conditions were determined to obtain a crude enzyme preparation with significant xylanolytic activity and little cellulolytic activity. In most treatments, the xylanolytic activity was higher than the cellulolytic activity. A negative effect on the production of endoxylanases, β-xylosidases and endocellulases was observed with the increasing of xylan concentration. Increasing the incubation time adversely affected the production of endocellulases and β-xylosidases. According to the mathematical model and experimental tests, it is possible to produce endoxylanases with minimal endocellulase activity increasing incubation time and the concentration of ammonium sulfate. The optimal culture conditions to produce a greater amount of endoxylanases (10.65U/mg) and low endocellulases from F. solani were: 2.5% (w/v) xylan, 5.0, 2.0 and 0.4g/l, of yeast extract, ammonium sulfate and urea, respectively, with 120h of incubation.

CRISPR/Cas9-Mediated Integration of Large Transgene into Pig CEP112 Locus

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-associated protein 9 (Cas9) is a precise genome manipulating tool that can produce targeted gene mutations in various cells and organisms. Although CRISPR/Cas9 can efficiently generate gene knockout, the gene knock-in (KI) efficiency mediated by homology-directed repair remains low, especially for large fragment integration. In this study, we established an efficient method for the CRISPR/Cas9-mediated integration of large transgene cassette, which carries salivary gland-expressed multiple digestion enzymes (≈ 20 kbp) in CEP112 locus in pig fetal fibroblasts (PFFs). Our results showed that using an optimal homology donor with a short and a long arm yielded the best CRISPR/Cas9-mediated KI efficiency in CEP112 locus, and the targeting efficiency in CEP112 locus was higher than in ROSA26 locus. The CEP112 KI cell lines were used as nuclear donors for somatic cell nuclear transfer to create genetically modified pigs. We found that KI pig (705) successfully expressed three microbial enzymes (β-glucanase, xylanase, and phytase) in salivary gland. This finding suggested that the CEP112 locus supports exogenous gene expression by a tissue-specific promoter. In summary, we successfully targeted CEP112 locus in pigs by using our optimal homology arm system and established a modified pig model for foreign digestion enzyme expression in the saliva.

Heterologous expression, purification, immobilization and characterization of recombinant α-amylase AmyLa from Laceyella sp. DS3

AmyLa α-amylase gene from Laceyella sp. DS3 was heterologously expressed in E. coli BL21. E. coli BL21 maximally expressed AmyLa after 4 h of adding 0.02 mM IPTG at 37 °C. The recombinant AmyLa α-amylase was purified 2.19-fold through gel filtration and ion exchange chromatography. We immobilized the purified recombinant AmyLa α-amylase on four carriers; chitosan had the best efficiency. The recombinant free and the immobilized AmyLa α-amylase showed optimum activity in the pH ranges of 6.0-7.0 and 4.0-7.0, respectively and possessed an optimum temperature of 55 °C. The free enzyme had activation energy, Km, and Vmax of 291.5 kJ, 1.5 mg/ml, and 6.06 mg/min, respectively. The immobilized enzyme had activation energy, Km, and Vmax of 309.74 kJ, 6.67 mg/ml, and 50 mg/min, respectively. The immobilized enzyme was calcium-independent and insensitive (relative to the free enzyme) to metals. It could also be reused for seven cycles.

Novel transgenic pigs with enhanced growth and reduced environmental impact

In pig production, inefficient feed digestion causes excessive nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen to be released to the environment. To address the issue of environmental emissions, we established transgenic pigs harboring a single-copy quad-cistronic transgene and simultaneously expressing three microbial enzymes, β-glucanase, xylanase, and phytase in the salivary glands. All the transgenic enzymes were successfully expressed, and the digestion of non-starch polysaccharides (NSPs) and phytate in the feedstuff was enhanced. Fecal nitrogen and phosphorus outputs in the transgenic pigs were reduced by 23.2–45.8%, and growth rate improved by 23.0% (gilts) and 24.4% (boars) compared with that of age-matched wild-type littermates under the same dietary treatment. The transgenic pigs showed an 11.5–14.5% improvement in feed conversion rate compared with the wild-type pigs. These findings indicate that the transgenic pigs are promising resources for improving feed efficiency and reducing environmental impact.

The bodily waste that pigs produce contains high levels of chemicals that can damage the environment, such as nitrogen and phosphorus. For example, when excessive amounts of these two compounds make their way into the water, they can cause blue-green algae to grow too much, which asphyxiates other life in the water.

Pigs produce a lot of nitrogen and phosphorus because they cannot efficiently digest their food. In particular, the animals lack the enzymes required to break down two types of molecules present in their feedstuff: phytates and non-starch polysaccharides (NSPs).

Zhang, Li et al. take four microbial genes which code for the enzymes needed to digest NSPs and phytates, and they add these DNA sequences into the genomes of pigs. The animals then produce enzymes in their saliva that transform NSPs and phytates into molecules which can be used by their digestive system. The pigs thus get more energy from their food, and they grow faster and bigger. They also produce less nitrogen and phosphorus in their waste.

Over 1.2 billion pigs are farmed each year, and they are the most economically important meat source in the world. Raising animals that can digest their food better would reduce the need for pig feed, increase productivity and reduce environmental pollution. However, discussions with policy makers and with the public will be necessary before these results can be adopted by the farming industry.

Microbial xylanases and their industrial application in pulp and paper biobleaching: a review

Xylanases are hydrolytic enzymes which cleave the β-1, 4 backbone of the complex plant cell wall polysaccharide xylan. Xylan is the major hemicellulosic constituent found in soft and hard food. It is the next most abundant renewable polysaccharide after cellulose. Xylanases and associated debranching enzymes produced by a variety of microorganisms including bacteria, actinomycetes, yeast and fungi bring hydrolysis of hemicelluloses. Despite thorough knowledge of microbial xylanolytic systems, further studies are required to achieve a complete understanding of the mechanism of xylan degradation by xylanases produced by microorganisms and their promising use in pulp biobleaching. Cellulase-free xylanases are important in pulp biobleaching as alternatives to the use of toxic chlorinated compounds because of the environmental hazards and diseases caused by the release of the adsorbable organic halogens. In this review, we have focused on the studies of structural composition of xylan in plants, their classification, sources of xylanases, extremophilic xylanases, modes of fermentation for the production of xylanases, factors affecting xylanase production, statistical approaches such as Plackett Burman, Response Surface Methodology to enhance xylanase production, purification, characterization, molecular cloning and expression. Besides this, review has focused on the microbial enzyme complex involved in the complete breakdown of xylan and the studies on xylanase regulation and their potential industrial applications with special reference to pulp biobleaching, which is directly related to increasing pulp brightness and reduction in environmental pollution.

Utility of thermo-alkali-stable γ-CA from polyextremophilic bacterium Aeribacillus pallidus TSHB1 in biomimetic sequestration of CO2 and as a virtual peroxidase

Aeribacillus pallidus TSHB1 polyextremophilic bacterium produces a γ-carbonic anhydrase (ApCA), which is a homotrimeric biocatalyst with a subunit molecular mass of 32 ± 2 kDa. The enzyme is stable in the pH range between 8.0 and 11.0 and thus alkali-stable and moderately thermostable with T_1/2 values of 40 ± 1, 15 ± 1, and 8 ± 0.5 min at 60, 70, and 80 °C, respectively. Activation energy for irreversible inactivation "E _d " of carbonic anhydrase is 67.119 kJ mol^-1. The enzyme is stable in the presence of various flue gas contaminants such as SO₃^2-,SO₄^2-, and NO₃^- and cations Mg²⁺, Mn²⁺, Ca²⁺, and Ba²⁺. Fluorescence studies in the presence of N-bromosuccinimide and fluorescence quenching using KI and acrylamide revealed the importance of tryptophan residues in maintaining the structural integrity of the enzyme. ApCA is more efficient than the commercially available bovine carbonic anhydrase (BCA) in CO₂ sequestration. The enzyme was successfully used in biomineralization of CO₂ from flue gas. Replacement of active site Zn²⁺ with Mn²⁺ enabled ApCA to function as a peroxidase which exhibited alkali-stability and moderate thermostability like ApCA.

Purification, characterization, gene cloning and expression of GH-10 xylanase (Penicillium citrinum isolate HZN13)

An extracellular thermostable xylanase (Xyl-IIb) produced by Penicillium citrinum isolate HZN13 was purified to homogeneity using DEAE-Sepharose, Sephadex G-100 and Bio-Gel P-60 chromatography with specific activity of 6272.7 U/mg and 19.6-fold purification. The purification revealed the occurrence of multiple forms of xylanases (Xyl-I, Xyl-IIa, Xyl-IIb and Xyl-III). The molecular mass of highly purified Xyl-IIb was ~31 kDa with SDS-PAGE. The enzyme was cellulase-free, thermostable (55–75 °C) and acidophilic (3.5–5.0). It was activated by Ca²⁺, Ba²⁺, DTT and β-mercaptoethanol, whereas inhibited by Hg²⁺, Pb²⁺, Ni²⁺ and p-CMB. Purified Xyl-IIb exhibited highest specificity toward birchwood and oat spelts xylan. Kinetics of Xyl-IIb revealed a K_m of 10 mg/ml and 16.7 mg/ml and V_max of 9523g and 15,873 U/mg with birchwood and oat spelts xylan, respectively, indicating high affinity toward birchwood xylan. The xylanase (Xyl-IIb) belongs to glycosyl hydrolase (GH) family 10 based on conserved regions. Xylanase-encoding gene (xynB) consists of 1501 bp with an open reading frame of 264 bp which was predicted to encode a protein having 87 amino acids and shared homology with endo-1,4-beta-xylanase (xynB) gene from Penicillium citrinum. Cloned xynB gene was expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3) with xylanase activity (80 U/mg) and confirmed to be GH-10 Xyl-IIa based on molecular mass (~40 kDa). These properties of xylanase make it promising for their applications in biofuel industries.

Recombinant exochitinase of the thermophilic mould Myceliopthora thermophila BJA: Characteristics and utility in generating N-acetyl glucosamine and in biocontrol of phytopathogenic fungi

Chitinase from the thermophilic mould Myceliopthora thermophila BJA (MtChit) is an acid tolerant, thermostable and organic solvent stable biocatalyst which does not require any metal ions for its activity. To produce high enzyme titres, reduce fermentation time and overcome the need for induction, this enzyme has been heterologously expressed under GAP promoter in the GRAS yeast, Pichia pastoris. The production medium supplemented with the permeabilizing agent Tween-20 supported two-fold higher rMtChit production (5.5 × 10³ U L^-1 ). The consensus sequences S(132)xG(133)G(134) and D(168)xxD(171)xD(173)xE(175) in the enzyme have been found to represent the substrate binding and catalytic sites, respectively. The rMtChit, purified to homogeneity by a two-step purification strategy, is a monomeric glycoprotein of ∼48 kDa, which is optimally active at 55°C and pH 5.0. The enzyme is thermostable with t_1/2 values of 113 and 48 min at 65 and 75°C, respectively. Kinetic parameters K_m , V_max , k_cat , and k_cat /K_m of the enzyme are 4.655 mg mL^-1 , 34.246 nmol mg^-1  s^-1 , 3.425 × 10⁶ min^-1 , and 1.36 × 10^-6 mg mL^-1  min^-1 , respectively. rMtChit is an unique exochitinase, since its action on chitin liberates N-acetylglucosamine NAG. The enzyme inhibits the growth of phytopathogenic fungi like Fusarium oxysporum and Curvularia lunata, therefore, this finds application as biofungicide at high temperatures during summer in tropics. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 33:70-80, 2017.

Novel alkalistable α-carbonic anhydrase from the polyextremophilic bacterium Bacillus halodurans: characteristics and applicability in flue gas CO2 sequestration

The emissions of CO2 into the atmosphere have been constantly rising due to anthropogenic activities, which have led to global warming and climate change. Among various methods proposed for mitigating CO2 levels in the atmosphere, carbonic anhydrase (CA)-mediated carbon sequestration represents a greener and safer approach to capture and convert it into stable mineral carbonates. Despite the fact that CA is an extremely efficient metalloenzyme that catalyzes the hydration of CO2 (CO2 + H2O ↔ HCO3 (-) + H(+)) with a kcat of ∼10(6) s(-1), a thermostable, and alkalistable CA is desirable for the process to take place efficiently. The purified CA from alkaliphilic, moderately thermophilic, and halotolerant Bacillus halodurans TSLV1 (BhCA) is a homodimeric enzyme with a subunit molecular mass of ~37 kDa with stability in a broad pH range between 6.0 and 11.0. It has a moderate thermostability with a T1/2 of 24.0 ± 1.0 min at 60 °C. Based on the sensitivity of CA to specific inhibitors, BhCA is an α-CA; this has been confirmed by nucleotide/amino acid sequence analysis. This has a unique property of stimulation by SO4 (2-), and it remains unaffected by SO3 (2-), NOx, and most other components present in the flue gas. BhCA is highly efficient in accelerating the mineralization of CO2 as compared to commercial bovine carbonic anhydrase (BCA) and is also efficient in the sequestration of CO2 from the exhaust of petrol driven car, thus, a useful biocatalyst for sequestering CO2 from flue gas.

Bacterial and Archaeal α-Amylases: Diversity and Amelioration of the Desirable Characteristics for Industrial Applications

Industrial enzyme market has been projected to reach US$ 6.2 billion by 2020. Major reasons for continuous rise in the global sales of microbial enzymes are because of increase in the demand for consumer goods and biofuels. Among major industrial enzymes that find applications in baking, alcohol, detergent, and textile industries are α-amylases. These are produced by a variety of microbes, which randomly cleave α-1,4-glycosidic linkages in starch leading to the formation of limit dextrins. α-Amylases from different microbial sources vary in their properties, thus, suit specific applications. This review focuses on the native and recombinant α-amylases from bacteria and archaea, their production and the advancements in the molecular biology, protein engineering and structural studies, which aid in ameliorating their properties to suit the targeted industrial applications.

A xylanase from Streptomyces sp. FA1: heterologous expression, characterization, and its application in Chinese steamed bread

Xylanases (EC 3.2.1.8) are hydrolytic enzymes that have found widespread application in the food, feed, and paper-pulp industries. Streptomyces sp. FA1 xynA was expressed as a secreted protein in Pichia pastoris, and the xylanase was applied to the production of Chinese steamed bread for the first time. The optimal pH and the optimal temperature of XynA were 5.5 and 60 °C, respectively. Using beechwood as substrate, the K  m and V  max were 2.408 mg mL−1 and 299.3 µmol min−1 mg−1, respectively. Under optimal conditions, a 3.6-L bioreactor produced 1374 U mL−1 of XynA activity at a protein concentration of 6.3 g L−1 after 132 h of fermentation. Use of recombinant XynA led to a greater increase in the specific volume of the CSB than could be achieved using commercial xylanase under optimal conditions. This study provides the basis for the application of the enzyme in the baking industry.

Molecular characterization of a new alkaline-tolerant xylanase from Humicola insolens Y1

An endo-1,4-β-xylanase-encoding gene, xyn11B, was cloned from the thermophilic fungus Humicola insolens Y1. The gene encodes a multimodular xylanase that consists of a typical hydrophobic signal sequence, a catalytic domain of glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 11, a glycine-rich linker, and a family 1 carbohydrate binding module (CBM1). Deduced Xyn11B shares the highest identity of 74% with a putative xylanase from Podospora anserina S mat+. Recombinant Xyn11B was successfully expressed in Pichia pastoris and purified to electrophoretic homogeneity. Xyn11B had a high specific activity of 382.0 U mg⁻¹ towards beechwood xylan and showed optimal activity at pH 6.0 and 50°C. Distinct from most reported acidic fungal xylanases, Xyn11B was alkaline-tolerant, retaining 30.7% of the maximal activity at pH 9.0. The K_m and V_max values for beechwood xylan were 2.2 mg mL⁻¹ and 462.8 μmol min⁻¹ mg⁻¹, respectively. The enzyme exhibited a wider substrate specificity and produced a mixture of xylooligosaccharides. All these favorable enzymatic properties make Xyn11B attractive for potential applications in various industries.

Cloning and characterization of the first GH10 and GH11 xylanases from Rhizopus oryzae

The only available genome sequence for Rhizopus oryzae strain 99-880 was annotated to not encode any β-1,4-endoxylanase encoding genes of the glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 10 or 11. Here, we report the identification and cloning of two such members in R. oryzae strain NRRL 29086. Strain 29086 was one of several selected fungi grown on wheat or triticale bran and screened for xylanase activity among other hydrolytic actions. Its high activity (138 U/ml) in the culture supernatant led to the identification of two activity-stained proteins, designated Xyn-1 and Xyn-2 of respective molecular masses 32,000 and 22,000. These proteins were purified to electrophoretic homogeneity and characterized. The specific activities of Xyn-1 and Xyn-2 towards birchwood xylan were 605 and 7,710 U/mg, respectively. Kinetic data showed that the lower molecular weight Xyn-2 had a higher affinity (K m=3.2 ± 0.2 g/l) towards birchwood xylan than Xyn-1 by about 4-fold. The melting temperature (T m) of the two proteins, estimated to be in the range of 49.5-53.7 °C indicated that they are rather thermostable proteins. N-terminal and internal peptide sequences were obtained by chemical digestion of the purified xylanases to facilitate cloning, expression in Escherichia coli, and sequencing of the respective gene. The cloned Rhizopus xylanases were used to demonstrate release of xylose from flax shives-derived hemicellulose as model feedstock. Overall, this study expands the catalytic toolbox of GH10 and 11 family proteins that have applications in various industrial and bioproducts settings.

Expression and characterization of recombinant GH11 xylanase from thermotolerant Streptomyces sp. SWU10

Xylans are major hemicellulose components of plant cell wall which can be hydrolyzed by xylanolytic enzymes. Three forms of endo-β-1,4-xylanases (XynSW1, XynSW2A, and XynSW2B) produced by thermotolerant Streptomyces sp. SWU10 have been reported. In the present study, we described the expression and characterization of the fourth xylanase enzyme from this bacteria, termed XynSW3. The gene containing 726 bp was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. The recombinant enzyme (rXynSW3) was purified from cell-free extract to homogeneity using Ni-affinity column chromatography. The apparent molecular mass of rXynSW3 was 48 kDa. Amino acid sequence analysis revealed that it belonged to a xylanase of glycoside hydrolase family 11. The optimum pH and temperature for enzyme activity were 5.5-6.5 and 50 °C, respectively. The enzyme was stable up to 40 °C and in wide pH ranges (pH 0.6-10.3). Xylan without arabinosyl side chain is the most preferable substrate for the enzyme. By using birch wood xylan as substrate, rXynSW3 produced several oligosaccharides in the initial stage of hydrolysis, and their levels increased with time, demonstrating that the enzyme is an endo-acting enzyme. The major products were xylobiose, triose, and tetraose. The rXynSW3 can be applied in several industries such as food, textile, and biofuel industries, and waste treatment.

Characteristics and applications of a recombinant alkaline serine protease from a novel bacterium Bacillus lehensis

A highly alkaline protease (BLAP) from a novel psychrotolerant and alkaliphilic bacterium, Bacillus lehensis was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. BLAP belongs to subtilase S8 family of proteases, comprising 27 aa secretion signal, 83 aa prosequence and 269 aa mature BLAP. The amino acids Asp 141, His 171 and Ser 324 form catalytic triad, while Ile 214, Leu 233 and Asn 267 are other active site moieties. Recombinant alkaline protease (rBLAP) is a monomeric protein of 39.0±1.0kDa, and it is active over broad pH (8-12) and temperature (30-60°C) ranges, with optima at pH 12.8 and 50°C. rBLAP is stimulated by SDS, Co(2+), Ca(2+), β-ME, and inhibited by Hg(2+) and PMSF. The rBLAP is compatible with commercial detergents, useful in silk degumming and silver recovery from the used photographic films and a potent biocontrol agent for arresting the development of eggs of the nematode Meloidogyne incognita.

Cloning, expression and characteristics of a novel alkalistable and thermostable xylanase encoding gene (Mxyl) retrieved from compost-soil metagenome

Background

The alkalistable and thermostable xylanases are in high demand for pulp bleaching in paper industry and generating xylooligosaccharides by hydrolyzing xylan component of agro-residues. The compost-soil samples, one of the hot environments, are expected to be a rich source of microbes with thermostable enzymes.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Metagenomic DNA from hot environmental samples could be a rich source of novel biocatalysts. While screening metagenomic library constructed from DNA extracted from the compost-soil in the p18GFP vector, a clone (TSDV-MX1) was detected that exhibited clear zone of xylan hydrolysis on RBB xylan plate. The sequencing of 6.321 kb DNA insert and its BLAST analysis detected the presence of xylanase gene that comprised 1077 bp. The deduced protein sequence (358 amino acids) displayed homology with glycosyl hydrolase (GH) family 11 xylanases. The gene was subcloned into pET28a vector and expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3). The recombinant xylanase (rMxyl) exhibited activity over a broad range of pH and temperature with optima at pH 9.0 and 80°C. The recombinant xylanase is highly thermostable having T1/2 of 2 h at 80°C and 15 min at 90°C.

Conclusion/Significance

This is the first report on the retrieval of xylanase gene through metagenomic approach that encodes an enzyme with alkalistability and thermostability. The recombinant xylanase has a potential application in paper and pulp industry in pulp bleaching and generating xylooligosaccharides from the abundantly available agro-residues.

Molecular characterization of a cold-active recombinant xylanase from Flavobacterium johnsoniae and its applicability in xylan hydrolysis

A novel xylanase gene, xyn10A, was cloned from Flavobacterium johsoniae, overexpressed in a flavobacterial expression system, the recombinant enzyme purified by Ni-affinity chromatography, and enzyme structure and activity analyzed. Xyn10A was found to be a modular xylanase with an Fn3 accessory domain on its N-terminal and a catalytic region on the C-terminal. The optimum pH and temperature for Xyn10A was 8.0 and 30 °C, but Xyn10A retained 50% activity at 4 °C, indicating that Xyn10A is a cold-active xylanase. A Fn3-deletion xylanase had relative activity ca. 3.6-fold lower than the wild-type, indicating that Fn3 promotes xylanase activity. The Fn3 region also contributed to stability of the enzyme at elevated temperatures. However, Fn3 did not bind this xylanase to insoluble substrates. The enzyme hydrolyzed xylo-oligosaccharides into xylobiose, and xylose with xylobiose as the main product, confirming that Xyn10A is a strict endo-β-1,4-xylanase. Xyn10A also hydrolyzed birchwood and beechwood xylan to yield mainly xylose, xylobiose and xylotriose.

Cloning, expression and applicability of thermo-alkali-stable xylanase of Geobacillus thermoleovorans in generating xylooligosaccharides from agro-residues

A xylanase gene (xyl-gt) of 1.224 kbp was cloned from the extremely thermophilic bacterium Geobacillus thermoleovorans that encodes a protein containing 408 amino acid residues. Eight conserved regions (signature sequences) of GH family 10 xylanases have been found in the xylanase. When the xylanase gene was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3), the recombinant strain produced xylanase titer of 270 U mg(-1) which is 27-fold higher than the wild strain. It is optimally active at 80°C and pH 8.5 with a high thermostability over broad range of pH (6-12) and temperature (40-100°C). The end products of the hydrolysis of birch wood xylan and agro-residues included xylobiose, xylotriose, xylotetraose and xylopentaose. The xylanase of G. thermoleovorans is one of the rare xylanases that exhibits thermo-alkali-stability, and thus, it is a suitable candidate for pre-bleaching of paper pulps and generating xylooligosaccharides from agro-residues for use as prebiotics.

GH11 xylanases: Structure/function/properties relationships and applications

For technical, environmental and economical reasons, industrial demands for process-fitted enzymes have evolved drastically in the last decade. Therefore, continuous efforts are made in order to get insights into enzyme structure/function relationships to create improved biocatalysts. Xylanases are hemicellulolytic enzymes, which are responsible for the degradation of the heteroxylans constituting the lignocellulosic plant cell wall. Due to their variety, xylanases have been classified in glycoside hydrolase families GH5, GH8, GH10, GH11, GH30 and GH43 in the CAZy database. In this review, we focus on GH11 family, which is one of the best characterized GH families with bacterial and fungal members considered as true xylanases compared to the other families because of their high substrate specificity. Based on an exhaustive analysis of the sequences and 3D structures available so far, in relation with biochemical properties, we assess biochemical aspects of GH11 xylanases: structure, catalytic machinery, focus on their "thumb" loop of major importance in catalytic efficiency and substrate selectivity, inhibition, stability to pH and temperature. GH11 xylanases have for a long time been used as biotechnological tools in various industrial applications and represent in addition promising candidates for future other uses.