Functional analysis of the glucan degradation locus in Caldicellulosiruptor bescii reveals essential roles of component glycoside hydrolases in plant biomass deconstruction

Jonathan M. Conway, Bennett S. McKinley, Nathaniel L. Seals, Diana Hernandez, Piyum A. Khatibi, Suresh Poudel, Richard J. Giannone, Robert L. Hettich, Amanda M. Williams-Rhaesa, Gina L. Lipscomb, Michael W.W. Adams, Robert M. Kelly

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

39 Scopus citations

Abstract

The ability to hydrolyze microcrystalline cellulose is an uncommon feature in the microbial world, but it can be exploited for conversion of lignocellulosic feedstocks into biobased fuels and chemicals. Understanding the physiological and biochemical mechanisms by which microorganisms deconstruct cellulosic material is key to achieving this objective. The glucan degradation locus (GDL) in the genomes of extremely thermophilic Caldicellulosiruptor species encodes polysaccharide lyases (PLs), unique cellulose binding proteins (tāpirins), and putative posttranslational modifying enzymes, in addition to multidomain, multifunctional glycoside hydrolases (GHs), thereby representing an alternative paradigm for plant biomass degradation compared to fungal or cellulosomal systems. To examine the individual and collective in vivo roles of the glycolytic enzymes, the six GH genes in the GDL of Caldicellulosiruptor bescii were systematically deleted, and the extents to which the resulting mutant strains could solubilize microcrystalline cellulose (Avicel) and plant biomass (switchgrass or poplar) were examined. Three of the GDL enzymes, Athe_1867 (CelA) (GH9-CBM3-CBM3-CBM3-GH48), Athe_1859 (GH5-CBM3-CBM3-GH44), and Athe_1857 (GH10-CBM3-CBM3-GH48), acted synergistically in vivo and accounted for 92% of naked microcrystalline cellulose (Avicel) degradation. However, the relative importance of the GDL GHs varied for the plant biomass substrates tested. Furthermore, mixed cultures of mutant strains showed that switchgrass solubilization depended on the secretome-bound enzymes collectively produced by the culture, not on the specific strain from which they came. These results demonstrate that certain GDL GHs are primarily responsible for the degradation of microcrystalline cellulose-containing substrates by C. bescii and provide new insights into the workings of a novel microbial mechanism for lignocellulose utilization.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere01828-17
JournalApplied and Environmental Microbiology
Volume83
Issue number24
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1 2017

Funding

We acknowledge the help of Christa Pennacchio, Joel Martin, and Matthew Blow at the DOE Joint Genome Institute for sequencing of the recombinant Caldicellulosiruptor strains. This work was funded in part by the BioEnergy Science Center, a U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Research Center supported by the Office of Biological and Environmental Research in the DOE Office of Science.

Keywords

  • Caldicellulosiruptor
  • Cellulase
  • Cellulose degradation
  • Extreme thermophile
  • Glycoside hydrolase
  • Lignocellulose

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