Combining analytical approaches for better lignocellulosic biomass degradation: a way of improving fungal enzymatic cocktails?

PURPOSE: In this study, a combinatory approach was undertaken to assay the efficiency of fungal enzymatic cocktails from different fermentation conditions to degrade different lignocellulosic biomasses with the aim of finely characterizing fungal enzymatic cocktails. METHODS: Enzymatic assays (AZO and pNP-linked substrates and ABTS) were used to assess the composition of the fungal enzymatic cocktails for cellulase, xylanase and laccase activities. Comparisons were made with a new range of chromogenic substrates based on complex biomass (CBS substrates). The saccharification efficiency of the cocktails was evaluated as a quantification of the sugar monomers released from the different biomasses after incubation with the enzymatic cocktails. RESULTS: The results obtained showed striking differences between the AZO and pNP-linked substrates and the CBS substrates for the same enzymatic cocktails. On AZO and pNP-linked substrates, different hydrolysis profiles were observed between the different fungi species with Aspergillus oryzae being the most efficient. However, the results on CBS substrates were more contrasted depending on the biomass tested. Altogether, the results highlighted that assessing laccase activities and taking into account the complexity of the biomass to degrade were key in order to provide the best enzymatic cocktails. CONCLUSION: The complementary experiments performed in this study showed that different approaches needed to be taken in order to accurately assess the ability of an enzymatic cocktail to be efficient when it comes to lignocellulosic biomass degradation. The saccharification assay proved to be essential to validate the data obtained from both simple and complex substrates.

Optimized Bioproduction of Itaconic and Fumaric Acids Based on Solid-State Fermentation of Lignocellulosic Biomass.

The bioproduction of high-value chemicals such as itaconic and fumaric acids (IA and FA, respectively) from renewable resources via solid-state fermentation (SSF) represents an alternative to the current bioprocesses of submerged fermentation using refined sugars. Both acids are excellent platform chemicals with a wide range of applications in different market, such as plastics, coating, or cosmetics. The use of lignocellulosic biomass instead of food resources (starch or grains) in the frame of a sustainable development for IA and FA bioproduction is of prime importance. Filamentous fungi, especially belonging to the Aspergillus genus, have shown a great capacity to produce these organic dicarboxylic acids. This study attempts to develop and optimize the SSF conditions with lignocellulosic biomasses using A. terreus and A. oryzae to produce IA and FA. First, a kinetic study of SSF was performed with non-food resources (wheat bran and corn cobs) and a panel of pH and moisture conditions was studied during fermentation. Next, a new process using an enzymatic cocktail simultaneously with SSF was investigated in order to facilitate the use of the biomass as microbial substrate. Finally, a large-scale fermentation process was developed for SSF using corn cobs with A. oryzae; this specific condition showed the best yield in acid production. The yields achieved were 0.05 mg of IA and 0.16 mg of FA per gram of biomass after 48 h. These values currently represent the highest reported productions for SSF from raw lignocellulosic biomass.

High-throughput strategies for the discovery and engineering of enzymes for biocatalysis.

Innovations in novel enzyme discoveries impact upon a wide range of industries for which biocatalysis and biotransformations represent a great challenge, i.e., food industry, polymers and chemical industry. Key tools and technologies, such as bioinformatics tools to guide mutant library design, molecular biology tools to create mutants library, microfluidics/microplates, parallel miniscale bioreactors and mass spectrometry technologies to create high-throughput screening methods and experimental design tools for screening and optimization, allow to evolve the discovery, development and implementation of enzymes and whole cells in (bio)processes. These technological innovations are also accompanied by the development and implementation of clean and sustainable integrated processes to meet the growing needs of chemical, pharmaceutical, environmental and biorefinery industries. This review gives an overview of the benefits of high-throughput screening approach from the discovery and engineering of biocatalysts to cell culture for optimizing their production in integrated processes and their extraction/purification.

Deciphering the role of Paenibacillus strain Q8 in the organic matter recycling in the acid mine drainage of Carnoulès.

BACKGROUND: The recycling of the organic matter is a crucial function in any environment, especially in oligotrophic environments such as Acid Mine Drainages (AMDs). Polymer-degrading bacteria might play an important role in such ecosystem, at least by releasing by-products useful for the rest of the community. In this study, physiological, molecular and biochemical experiments were performed to decipher the role of a Paenibacillus strain isolated from the sediment of Carnoulès AMD. RESULTS: Even though Paenibacillus sp. strain Q8 was isolated from an oligotrophic AMD showing an acidic pH, it developed under both acidic and alkaline conditions and showed a heterotrophic metabolism based on the utilization of a broad range of organic compounds. It resisted to numerous metallic stresses, particularly high arsenite (As(III)) concentrations (> 1,800 mg/L). Q8 was also able to efficiently degrade polymers such as cellulose, xylan and starch. Function-based screening of a Q8 DNA-library allowed the detection of 15 clones with starch-degrading activity and 3 clones with xylan-degrading activity. One clone positive for starch degradation carried a single gene encoding a "protein of unknown function". Amylolytic and xylanolytic activities were measured both in growing cells and with acellular extracts of Q8. The results showed the ability of Q8 to degrade both polymers under a broad pH range and high As(III) and As(V) concentrations. Activity measurements allowed to point out the constitutive expression of the amylase genes and the mainly inducible expression of the xylanase genes. PACE demonstrated the endo-acting activity of the amylases and the exo-acting activity of the xylanases. CONCLUSIONS: AMDs have been studied for years especially with regard to interactions between bacteria and the inorganic compartment hosting them. To date, no study reported the role of microorganisms in the recycling of the organic matter. The present work suggests that the strain Q8 might play an important role in the community by recycling the scarce organic matter (cellulose, hemicellulose, starch...), especially when the conditions change. Furthermore, function-based screening of a Q8 DNA library allowed to assign an amylolytic function to a gene previously unknown. AMDs could be considered as a reservoir of genes with potential biotechnological properties.

Coculture of Trichoderma harzianum and Bacillus velezensis Based on Metabolic Cross-Feeding Modulates Lipopeptide Production.

Cocultures have been widely explored for their use in deciphering microbial interaction and its impact on the metabolisms of the interacting microorganisms. In this work, we investigate, in different liquid coculture conditions, the compatibility of two microorganisms with the potential for the biocontrol of plant diseases: the fungus Trichoderma harzianum IHEM5437 and the bacterium Bacillus velezensis GA1 (a strong antifungal lipopeptide producing strain). While the Bacillus overgrew the Trichoderma in a rich medium due to its antifungal lipopeptide production, a drastically different trend was observed in a medium in which a nitrogen nutritional dependency was imposed. Indeed, in this minimum medium containing nitrate as the sole nitrogen source, cooperation between the bacterium and the fungus was established. This is reflected by the growth of both species as well as the inhibition of the expression of Bacillus genes encoding lipopeptide synthetases. Interestingly, the growth of the bacterium in the minimum medium was enabled by the amendment of the culture by the fungal supernatant, which, in this case, ensures a high production yield of lipopeptides. These results highlight, for the first time, that Trichoderma harzianum and Bacillus velezensis are able, in specific environmental conditions, to adapt their metabolisms in order to grow together.

Evaluation of biological degradation of polyurethanes.

Polyurethanes (PU) are a family of versatile synthetic polymers intended for diverse applications. Biological degradation of PU is a blooming research domain as it contributes to the design of eco-friendly materials sensitive to biodegradation phenomena and the development of green recycling processes. In this field, an increasing number of studies deal with the discovery and characterization of enzymes and microorganisms able to degrade PU chains. The synthesis of short lifespan PU material sensitive to biological degradation is also of growing interest. Measurement of PU degradation can be performed by a wide range of analytical tools depending on the architecture of the materials and the biological entities. Recent developments of these analytical techniques allowed for a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in PU biodegradation. Here, we reviewed the evaluation of biological PU degradation, including the required analytics. Advantages, drawbacks, specific uses, and results of these analytics are largely discussed to provide a critical overview and support future studies.

Plant cell wall degradation with a powerful Fusarium graminearum enzymatic arsenal.

The complex enzyme pool secreted by the phytopathogenic fungus Fusarium graminearum in response to glucose or hop cell wall material as sole carbon sources was analyzed. The biochemical characterization of the enzymes present in the supernatant of fungal cultures in the glucose medium revealed only 5 different glycosyl hydrolase activities; by contrast, when analyzing cultures in the cell wall medium, 17 different activities were detected. This dramatic increase reflects the adaptation of the fungus by the synthesis of enzymes targeting all layers of the cell wall. When the enzymes secreted in the presence of plant cell wall were used to hydrolyze pretreated crude plant material, high levels of monosaccharides were measured with yields approaching 50% of total sugars released by an acid hydrolysis process. This report is the first biochemical characterization of numerous cellulases, hemicellulases, and pectinases secreted by F. graminearum and demonstrates the usefulness of the described protein cocktail for efficient enzymatic degradation of plant cell wall.

Innovative microscale workflow from fungi cultures to Cell Wall-Degrading Enzyme screening.

This study aimed at developing a complete miniaturized high-throughput screening workflow for the evaluation of the Cell Wall-Degrading Enzyme (CWDE) activities produced by any fungal strain directly cultivated on raw feedstock in a submerged manner. In this study, wheat straw was selected as model substrate as it represents an important carbon source but yet poorly valorised to yield high added value products. Fungi were grown in a microbioreactor in a high-throughput (HT) way to replace the fastidious shaking flask cultivations. Both approaches were compared in order to validate our new methodology. The range of CWDE activities produced from the cultures was assayed using AZO-died and pNP-linked substrates in an SBS plate format using a Biomek FXp pipetting platform. As highlighted in this study, it was shown that the CWDE activities gathered from the microbioreactor cultivations were similar or higher to those obtained from shake flasks cultures, with a lower standard deviation on the measured values, making this new method much faster than the traditional one and suitable for HT CWDE production thanks to its pipetting platform compatibility. Also, the results showed that the enzymatic activities measured were the same when doing the assay manually or using the automated method.

Enzymatic recycling of thermoplastic polyurethanes: Synergistic effect of an esterase and an amidase and recovery of building blocks.

Biological recycling of polyurethanes (PU) is a huge challenge to take up in order to reduce a large part of the environmental pollution from these materials. However, enzymatic depolymerization of PU still needs to be improved to propose valuable and green solutions. The present study aims to identify efficient PU degrading enzymes among a collection of 50 hydrolases. Screenings based on model molecules were performed leading to the selection of an efficient amidase (E4143) able to hydrolyze the urethane bond of a low molar mass molecule and an esterase (E3576) able to hydrolyze a waterborne polyester polyurethane dispersion. Degradation activities of the amidase, the esterase and a mix of these enzymes were then evaluated on four thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) specifically designed for this assay. The highest degradation was obtained on a polycaprolactone polyol-based polyurethane with weight loss of 33% after 51 days measured for the esterase. Deep cracks on the polymer surface observed by scanning electron microscopy and the presence of oligomers on the remaining TPU detected by size exclusion chromatography evidenced the polymer degradation. Mixing both enzymes led to an increased amount of urethane bonds hydrolysis of the polymer. 6-hydroxycaproic acid and 4,4'-methylene dianiline were recovered after depolymerization as hydrolysis products. Such building blocks could get a second life with the synthesis of new macromolecular architectures.

Isolation and characterization of different promising fungi for biological waste management of polyurethanes.

As a highly resistant polymer family, polyurethanes (PU) are responsible for increasing environmental issues. Then, PU biodegradation is a challenging way to develop sustainable waste management processes based on biological recycling. Since the metabolic diversity of fungi is a major asset for polymer degradation, nearly thirty strains were isolated from sampling on six different PU wastes-containing environments. A screening of the fungi on four thermoplastic PU (TPU) with different macromolecular architectures led to the selection of three strains able to use two polyester PU as sole carbon source: Alternaria sp., Penicillium section Lanata-Divaricata and Aspergillus section flavi. Weight loss, FT-IR, Scanning Electron Microscopy and Size Exclusion Chromatography analyses revealed that these three fungi degrade slightly and similarly a fatty acid dimer-based TPU while variability of degradation was noticed on a polycaprolactone-based TPU. On this last TPU, robust analysis of the degraded polymers showed that the Penicillium strain was the best degrading microorganism. Membrane enzymes seemed to be involved in this degradation. It is the first time that a strain of Penicillium of the section Lanata-Divaricata displaying PU biodegradation ability is isolated. These newly discovered fungi are promising for the development of polyester PU waste management process.

Screening of Lipopeptide-Producing Strains of Bacillus sp. Using a New Automated and Sensitive Fluorescence Detection Method.

Lipopeptides, such as surfactins are important biosurfactants produced by Bacillus sp. that find applications in many areas (environment, medicine, and food industries). Giving their importance, the use of simple detection methods will facilitate screening and quantification. In the present work, the authors describe a completely automated workflow for the screening of lipopeptide-producing strains, including quantification. First, isolated colonies from environmental samples are automatically picked and inoculated in 96 wells growth plate. After overnight incubation, surfactin produced in the broth is quantified, using a new sensitive fluorescent method. The method uses fluorescein (FL), which is an anionic dye at neutral to alkaline pH and forms a stable complex with the cationic surfactant cetylpiridinium chloride (CPC), quenching fluorescence. Upon addition of surfactin or other lipopeptides, fluorescein is released from the CPC-FL complex and quantified. The robustness of this method is assessed by comparing the quantification results to those conventionally measured by RP-UPLC and the results of strain screening are confirmed by MALDI-ToF analysis. The authors report for the first time the successful application of this analytical method for high-throughput screening of novel lipopeptide-producing strains.

Gene expression in Fusarium graminearum grown on plant cell wall.

Fusarium graminearum is a phytopathogenic filamentous fungus attacking a wide range of plants including Humulus lupulus (hop). Transcriptional analysis of F. graminearum grown on minimal media containing hop cell wall or glucose as the sole carbon source was performed by applying a highly stringent method combining microarrays and a subtracted cDNA library. In addition to genes coding for various cell wall degrading enzymes (CWDE), several metabolic pathways were induced in response to the plant cell wall substrate. Many genes participating in these pathways are probably involved in cellular transport. But the most interesting was that all the genes composing the 4-aminobutyrate-shunt (GABA-shunt) were also up-regulated in the presence of plant cell wall material and were present in the cDNA library. This study provides a description of a part of the fungal gene expression profile when it is in contact with raw biological materials, and helps in understanding the plant cell wall degradation and the infection process.

An overview of fungal community diversity in diseased hop plantations.

Samples were taken from several hop fields presenting various symptoms. Fifty-nine pure filamentous fungal strains were isolated and identified through genomic DNA preparations, PCR amplification of the ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer region and database interrogations. The most frequent genera were Alternaria (16 isolates) and Epicoccum (14 isolates). The ecosystem was shown to be very diverse, since as many as 27 species belonging to 17 genera were recovered. Furthermore, many of the isolated fungi are known to be involved in phytopathogenesis.

Nanoclays for Lipase Immobilization: Biocatalyst Characterization and Activity in Polyester Synthesis.

The immobilization of Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB) was performed by physical adsorption on both neat and organo-modified forms of sepiolite and montmorillonite. The influence of different parameters, e.g., solvent, enzyme loading, cross-linking, and type of clay support, on immobilization efficiency and catalyst hydrolytic activity has been investigated. The highest hydrolytic activities were obtained for CALB immobilized on organo-modified clay minerals, highlighting the beneficial effect of organo-modification. The esterification activity of these CALB/organoclay catalysts was also tested in the ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone. The polymerization kinetics observed for clay-immobilized catalysts confirmed that CALB adsorbed on organo-modified montmorillonite (CALB/MMTMOD) was the highest-performing catalytic system.

Itaconic and Fumaric Acid Production from Biomass Hydrolysates by Aspergillus Strains.

Itaconic acid (IA) is a dicarboxylic acid included in the US Department of Energy's (DOE) 2004 list of the most promising chemical platforms derived from sugars. IA is produced industrially using liquid-state fermentation (LSF) by Aspergillus terreus with glucose as the carbon source. To utilize IA production in renewable resource-based biorefinery, the present study investigated the use of lignocellulosic biomass as a carbon source for LSF. We also investigated the production of fumaric acid (FA), which is also on the DOE's list. FA is a primary metabolite, whereas IA is a secondary metabolite and requires the enzyme cis-aconitate decarboxylase for its production. Two lignocellulosic biomasses (wheat bran and corn cobs) were tested for fungal fermentation. Liquid hydrolysates obtained after acid or enzymatic treatment were used in LSF. We show that each treatment resulted in different concentrations of sugars, metals, or inhibitors. Furthermore, different acid yields (IA and FA) were obtained depending on which of the four Aspergillus strains tested were employed. The maximum FA yield was obtained when A. terreus was used for LSF of corn cob hydrolysate (1.9% total glucose); whereas an IA yield of 0.14% was obtained by LSF of corn cob hydrolysates by A. oryzae.

Use of genes encoding cellobiohydrolase-C and topoisomerase II as targets for phylogenetic analysis and identification of Fusarium.

Molecular identification and phylogenetic studies rely to a large extent on rDNA sequence polymorphism. In the field of fungal taxonomy, despite the use of huge amounts of rDNA data available, some species within a given genus remain indistinguishable. Therefore, new target sequences need to be selected and validated. This is the case for Fusarium, which includes numerous species most of which are involved in both animal and plant pathologies. In addition to the rDNA fragment encompassing the internal transcribed spacers ITS1 and ITS2 and the 5.8 S sequence, two newly characterized genes were used as molecular markers for Fusarium species genotyping. The cellobiohydrolase-C (cbh-C) and the topoisomerase II (topII) gene parts were cloned and sequenced for at least one isolate of each of the eleven different species of our collection. Both cbh-C and topII were found to be single copy genes. DNA fragments amplified by PCR in order to establish phylogenetic trees range from 1123 to 1157 bp for rDNA and from 327 to 344 bp for cbh-C (this part contains one intron). The topII gene part encoding the carboxy-terminus of the ATP binding domain of the enzyme is constant in length with a value of 724 bp. PAUP-generated phylogenetic analyses based either on cbh-C or topII data enabled all species to be distinguished, and were more informative than those resulting from rDNA sequences. Furthermore, a combination of the three datasets enhanced the accuracy of the analyses and open up new possibilities for rapid molecular identification and evolution studies within the Fusarium genus.

Development of a bipartite method for Fusarium identification based on cellobiohydrolase-C: CAPS and Western blot analysis.

The identification of 12 Fusarium strains isolated from diseased hops (Humulus lupulus, L.) was achieved by a strategy based on cellobiohydrolase-C: cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence analysis targeting the gene and the use of an antibody directed against a peptide of the Fusarium graminearum enzyme. This strategy is shown to be rapid and reliable for all the Fusarium of our collection: F. avenaceum, F. graminearum, F. sambucinum, F. sporotrichioides, F. tricinctum and F. venenatum.

Enzymatic cocktails produced by Fusarium graminearum under submerged fermentation using different lignocellulosic biomasses.

Fusarium graminearum was grown on four lignocellulosic substrates (corn cobs, wheat bran, hop cell walls, and birchwood) and glucose as the sole carbon source. Proteomic studies performed on the resulting enzymatic cocktails highlighted a great diversity in the number and type of proteins secreted. The cell wall-degrading enzymes (CWDE) proportion varied greatly from 20% to 69%. Only one of the 57 CWDEs detected in this study was common to the five proteomes. In contrast, 35 CWDEs were specific to one proteome only. The polysaccharide-degradation activities were different depending on the cocktail and the polysaccharide used. F. graminearum strongly modifies the enzymatic cocktail it secretes as a function of the biomass used for growth.

Genome-wide transcriptional responses of Fusarium graminearum to plant cell wall substrates.

We report a genome-wide transcriptomic study of Fusarium graminearum grown on four different substrates based on plant cell wall components. About 5% of the genes were differentially expressed in at least one condition. Analysis of upregulated cell wall-degrading enzymes highlights a sharp growth medium-specific adaptation process. In particular, the nature of the polysaccharides available for fungal growth induced a specific transcriptional response aiming at the targeted enzymatic degradation of the given polysaccharides.

The characterisation of xyloglucanase inhibitors from Humulus lupulus.

Phytopathogenic fungi secrete a powerful arsenal of enzymes that are potentially active against each polysaccharide component of the plant cell wall. To defend themselves, plants synthetise a variety of molecules that inhibit the activity of cell wall-degrading enzymes. Xyloglucan-specific endoglucanase inhibitor proteins (XEGIPs) act specifically against the members of fungal glycoside hydrolase family 12 (GH12 in the CAZy database). In the present study, we describe the identification of three XEGIP homologues from hop (Humulus lupulus L.). When incubating each of the recombinant inhibitors with an enzymatic cocktail from Aspergillus aculeatus (Viscozyme®), the xyloglucan-degrading endoglucanase activity decreased to 15% and 5% for HlXEGIP1 and HlXEGIP2, respectively, whereas no inhibition of the Viscozyme® enzymes was observed for the third (also called HlXEGIP homologue 3, or HlXEGIPh3). Fungal enzymatic cocktails from 20 different species also showed xyloglucan-degrading endoglucanase activities, and most of them were inhibited by HlXEGIP1 and -2. Furthermore, a real time RT-PCR analysis revealed variations in the spatial distribution of the genes encoding the three inhibitors and differential expression during development and (a) biotic stress. The role of XEGIPs in the plant-fungus interaction is discussed, and a model suggesting a distinct role of these XEGIP homologues is proposed: HlXEGIP1 may act in cases of abiotic stress, while HlXEGIP2 reacts to biotic stress, and physiological development may be influenced by HlXEGIPh3.