Enzyme-microbe synergy during cellulose hydrolysis by Clostridium thermocellum.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Lu Y
PROVIDER: S-EPMC1637554 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Oct
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Enzyme-microbe synergy during cellulose hydrolysis by Clostridium thermocellum.
Lu Yanpin Y Zhang Yi-Heng Percival YH Lynd Lee R LR
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20061023 44
Specific cellulose hydrolysis rates (g of cellulose/g of cellulase per h) were shown to be substantially higher (2.7- to 4.7-fold) for growing cultures of Clostridium thermocellum as compared with purified cellulase preparations from this organism in controlled experiments involving both batch and continuous cultures. This "enzyme-microbe synergy" requires the presence of metabolically active cellulolytic microbes, is not explained by removal of hydrolysis products from the bulk fermentation bro ...[more]
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Project description:The bioenergetics of cellulose utilization by Clostridium thermocellum was investigated. Cell yield and maintenance parameters, Y(X/ATP)True = 16.44 g cell/mol ATP and m = 3.27 mmol ATP/g cell per hour, were obtained from cellobiose-grown chemostats, and it was shown that one ATP is required per glucan transported. Experimentally determined values for G(ATP)P-T (ATP from phosphorolytic beta-glucan cleavage minus ATP for substrate transport, mol ATP/mol hexose) from chemostats fed beta-glucans with degree of polymerization (DP) 2-6 agreed well with the predicted value of (n-2)/n [corrected] (n = mean cellodextrin DP assimilated). A mean G(ATP)(P-T) value of 0.52 +/- 0.06 was calculated for cellulose-grown chemostat cultures, corresponding to n = 4.20 +/- 0.46. Determination of intracellular beta-glucan radioactivity resulting from 14C-labeled substrates showed that uptake is different for cellulose and cellobiose (G2). For 14C-cellobiose, radioactivity was greatest for G2; substantially smaller but measurable for G1, G3, and G4; undetectable for G5 and G6; and n was approximately 2. For 14C-cellulose, radioactivity was greatest for G5; lower but substantial for G6, G2, and G1; very low for G3 and G4; and n was approximately 4. These results indicate that: (i) C. thermocellum hydrolyzes cellulose by a different mode of action from the classical mechanism involving solubilization by cellobiohydrolase; (ii) bioenergetic benefits specific to growth on cellulose are realized, resulting from the efficiency of oligosaccharide uptake combined with intracellular phosphorolytic cleavage of beta-glucosidic bonds; and (iii) these benefits exceed the bioenergetic cost of cellulase synthesis, supporting the feasibility of anaerobic biotechnological processing of cellulosic biomass without added saccharolytic enzymes.
| S-EPMC1129095 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundClostridium thermocellum is a thermophilic anaerobic bacterium that degrades cellulose by using a highly effective cellulosome, a macromolecular complex consisting of multiple cellulose degrading enzymes organized and attached to the cell surface by non-catalytic scaffoldins. However, due largely to lack of efficient methods for genetic manipulation of C. thermocellum, it is still unclear how the different scaffoldins and their functional modules contribute to cellulose hydrolysis.ResultsWe constructed C. thermocellum mutants with the primary scaffoldin CipA (cellulosome-integrating protein A) truncated at different positions or lacking four different secondary scaffoldins by using a newly developed thermotargetron system, and we analyzed cellulose hydrolysis, cellulosome formation, and cellulose binding of the mutants. A CipA truncation that deletes six type I cohesin modules, which bind cellulolytic enzymes, decreased cellulose hydrolysis rates by 46%, and slightly longer truncations that also delete the carbohydrate binding module decreased rates by 89 to 92%, indicating strong cellulosome-substrate synergy. By contrast, a small CipA truncation that deletes only the C-terminal type II dockerin (XDocII) module detached cellulosomes from the cells, but decreased cellulose hydrolysis rates by only 9%, suggesting a relatively small contribution of cellulosome-cell synergy. Disruptants lacking any of four different secondary scaffoldins (OlpB, 7CohII, Orf2p, or SdbA) showed moderately decreased cellulose hydrolysis rates, suggesting additive contributions. Surprisingly, the CipA-ΔXDocII mutant, which lacks cell-associated polycellulosomes, adheres to cellulose almost as strongly as wild-type cells, revealing an alternate, previously unknown cellulose-binding mechanism.ConclusionsOur results emphasize the important role of cellulosome-substrate synergy in cellulose degradation, demonstrate a contribution of secondary scaffoldins, and suggest a previously unknown, non-cellulosomal system for binding insoluble cellulose. Our findings provide new insights into cellulosome function and impact genetic engineering of microorganisms to enhance bioconversions of cellulose substrates.
| S-EPMC4045903 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background: The ability of Clostridium thermocellum ATCC 27405 wild-type strain to hydrolyze cellulose and ferment the degradation products directly to ethanol and other metabolic byproducts makes it an attractive candidate for consolidated bioprocessing of cellulosic biomass to biofuels. In this study, whole-genome microarrays were used to investigate the expression of C. thermocellum mRNA during growth on crystalline cellulose in controlled replicate batch fermentations. Results: A time-series analysis of gene expression revealed changes in transcript levels of ~40% of genes (~1300 out of 3198 ORFs encoded in the genome) during transition from early-exponential to late-stationary phase. K-means clustering of genes with statistically significant changes in transcript levels identified six distinct clusters of temporal expression. Broadly, genes involved in energy production, translation, glycolysis and amino acid, nucleotide and coenzyme metabolism displayed a decreasing trend in gene expression as cells entered stationary phase. In comparison, genes involved in cell structure and motility, chemotaxis, signal transduction and transcription showed an increasing trend in gene expression. Hierarchical clustering of cellulosome-related genes highlighted temporal changes in composition of this multi-enzyme complex during batch growth on crystalline cellulose, with increased expression of several genes encoding hydrolytic enzymes involved in degradation of non-cellulosic substrates in stationary phase. Conclusions: Overall, the results suggest that under low substrate availability, growth slows due to decreased metabolic potential and C. thermocellum alters its gene expression to (i) modulate the composition of cellulosomes that are released into the environment with an increased proportion of enzymes than can efficiently degrade plant polysaccharides other than cellulose, (ii) enhance signal transduction and chemotaxis mechanisms perhaps to sense the oligo-saccharide hydrolysis products, and nutrient gradients generated through the action of cell-free cellulosomes and, (iii) increase cellular motility for potentially orienting the cells’ movement towards positive environmental signals leading to nutrient sources. Such a coordinated cellular strategy would increase its chances of survival in natural ecosystems where feast and famine conditions are frequently encountered.
2011-05-27 | GSE29554 | GEO
Project description:BackgroundThe ability of Clostridium thermocellum ATCC 27405 wild-type strain to hydrolyze cellulose and ferment the degradation products directly to ethanol and other metabolic byproducts makes it an attractive candidate for consolidated bioprocessing of cellulosic biomass to biofuels. In this study, whole-genome microarrays were used to investigate the expression of C. thermocellum mRNA during growth on crystalline cellulose in controlled replicate batch fermentations.ResultsA time-series analysis of gene expression revealed changes in transcript levels of ~40% of genes (~1300 out of 3198 ORFs encoded in the genome) during transition from early-exponential to late-stationary phase. K-means clustering of genes with statistically significant changes in transcript levels identified six distinct clusters of temporal expression. Broadly, genes involved in energy production, translation, glycolysis and amino acid, nucleotide and coenzyme metabolism displayed a decreasing trend in gene expression as cells entered stationary phase. In comparison, genes involved in cell structure and motility, chemotaxis, signal transduction and transcription showed an increasing trend in gene expression. Hierarchical clustering of cellulosome-related genes highlighted temporal changes in composition of this multi-enzyme complex during batch growth on crystalline cellulose, with increased expression of several genes encoding hydrolytic enzymes involved in degradation of non-cellulosic substrates in stationary phase.ConclusionsOverall, the results suggest that under low substrate availability, growth slows due to decreased metabolic potential and C. thermocellum alters its gene expression to (i) modulate the composition of cellulosomes that are released into the environment with an increased proportion of enzymes than can efficiently degrade plant polysaccharides other than cellulose, (ii) enhance signal transduction and chemotaxis mechanisms perhaps to sense the oligosaccharide hydrolysis products, and nutrient gradients generated through the action of cell-free cellulosomes and, (iii) increase cellular motility for potentially orienting the cells' movement towards positive environmental signals leading to nutrient sources. Such a coordinated cellular strategy would increase its chances of survival in natural ecosystems where feast and famine conditions are frequently encountered.
| S-EPMC3130646 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The family 9 cellulase gene celI of Clostridium thermocellum, was previously cloned, expressed, and characterized (G. P. Hazlewood, K. Davidson, J. I. Laurie, N. S. Huskisson, and H. J. Gilbert, J. Gen. Microbiol. 139:307-316, 1993). We have recloned and sequenced the entire celI gene and found that the published sequence contained a 53-bp deletion that generated a frameshift mutation, resulting in a truncated and modified C-terminal segment of the protein. The enzymatic properties of the wild-type protein were characterized and found to conform to those of other family 9 glycoside hydrolases with a so-called theme B architecture, where the catalytic module is fused to a family 3c carbohydrate-binding module (CBM3c); CelI also contains a C-terminal CBM3b. The intact recombinant CelI exhibited high levels of activity on all cellulosic substrates tested, with pH and temperature optima of 5.5 and 70 degrees C, respectively, using carboxymethylcellulose as a substrate. Native CelI was capable of solubilizing filter paper, and the distribution of reducing sugar between the soluble and insoluble fractions suggests that the enzyme acts as a processive cellulase. A truncated form of the enzyme, lacking the C terminal CBM3b, failed to bind to crystalline cellulose and displayed reduced activity toward insoluble substrates. A truncated form of the enzyme, in which both the cellulose-binding CBM3b and the fused CBM3c were removed, failed to exhibit significant levels of activity on any of the substrates examined. This study underscores the general nature of this type of enzymatic theme, whereby the fused CBM3c plays a critical accessory role for the family 9 catalytic domain and changes its character to facilitate processive cleavage of recalcitrant cellulose substrates.
| S-EPMC145334 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Fibronectin type 3 homology domains (Fn3) as found in the cellobiohydrolase CbhA of Clostridium thermocellum are common among bacterial extracellular glycohydrolases. The function of these domains is not clear. CbhA is modular and composed of an N-terminal family IV carbohydrate-binding domain (CBDIV), an immunoglobulin-like domain, a family 9 glycosyl hydrolase catalytic domain (Gh9), two Fn3-like domains (Fn3(1,2)), a family III carbohydrate-binding domain (CBDIII), and a dockerin domain. Efficiency of cellulose hydrolysis by truncated forms of CbhA increased in the following order: Gh9 (lowest efficiency), Gh9-Fn3(1,2) (more efficient), and Gh9-Fn3(1,2)-CBDIII (greatest efficiency). Thermostability of the above constructs decreased in the following order: Gh9 (most stable), Gh9-Fn3(1,2), and then Gh9-Fn3(1,2)-CBDIII (least stable). Mixing of Orpinomyces endoglucanase CelE with Fn3(1,2,) or Fn3(1,2)-CBDIII increased efficiency of hydrolysis of acid-swollen cellulose (ASC) and filter paper. Scanning electron microscopic studies of filter paper treated with Fn3(1,2), Fn3(1,2)-CBDIII, or CBDIII showed that the surface of the cellulose fibers had been loosened up and crenellated by Fn3(1,2) and Fn3(1,2)-CBDIII and to a lesser extent by CBDIII. X-ray diffraction analysis did not reveal changes in the crystallinity of the filter paper. CBDIII bound to ASC and filter paper with capacities of 2.45 and 0.73 micro moles g(-1) and relative affinities (K(r)) of 1.12 and 2.13 liters g(-1), respectively. Fn3(1,2) bound weakly to both celluloses. Fn3(1,2)-CBD bound to ASC and filter paper with capacities of 3.22 and 0.81 micro moles g(-1) and K(r)s of 1.14 and 1.98 liters g(-1), respectively. Fn3(1,2) and CBDIII contained 2 and 1 mol of calcium per mol, respectively. The results suggest that Fn3(1,2) aids the hydrolysis of cellulose by modifying its surface. This effect is enhanced by the presence of CBDIII, which increases the concentration of Fn3(1,2) on the cellulose surface.
| S-EPMC124122 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background: The ability of Clostridium thermocellum ATCC 27405 wild-type strain to hydrolyze cellulose and ferment the degradation products directly to ethanol and other metabolic byproducts makes it an attractive candidate for consolidated bioprocessing of cellulosic biomass to biofuels. In this study, whole-genome microarrays were used to investigate the expression of C. thermocellum mRNA during growth on crystalline cellulose in controlled replicate batch fermentations. Results: A time-series analysis of gene expression revealed changes in transcript levels of ~40% of genes (~1300 out of 3198 ORFs encoded in the genome) during transition from early-exponential to late-stationary phase. K-means clustering of genes with statistically significant changes in transcript levels identified six distinct clusters of temporal expression. Broadly, genes involved in energy production, translation, glycolysis and amino acid, nucleotide and coenzyme metabolism displayed a decreasing trend in gene expression as cells entered stationary phase. In comparison, genes involved in cell structure and motility, chemotaxis, signal transduction and transcription showed an increasing trend in gene expression. Hierarchical clustering of cellulosome-related genes highlighted temporal changes in composition of this multi-enzyme complex during batch growth on crystalline cellulose, with increased expression of several genes encoding hydrolytic enzymes involved in degradation of non-cellulosic substrates in stationary phase. Conclusions: Overall, the results suggest that under low substrate availability, growth slows due to decreased metabolic potential and C. thermocellum alters its gene expression to (i) modulate the composition of cellulosomes that are released into the environment with an increased proportion of enzymes than can efficiently degrade plant polysaccharides other than cellulose, (ii) enhance signal transduction and chemotaxis mechanisms perhaps to sense the oligo-saccharide hydrolysis products, and nutrient gradients generated through the action of cell-free cellulosomes and, (iii) increase cellular motility for potentially orienting the cellsM-bM-^@M-^Y movement towards positive environmental signals leading to nutrient sources. Such a coordinated cellular strategy would increase its chances of survival in natural ecosystems where feast and famine conditions are frequently encountered. Total RNA was extracted from the cell pellets and the reverse transcribed cDNA was hybridized to oligo-arrays containing duplicated probes representing ~90% of the annotated ORFs in C. thermocellum ATCC27405 genome.Dual-channel dye swap experimental design was used to analyze the time-course of gene expression during cellulose fermentation using two biological replicate fermentation. The 6hr sample as the reference, to which all other time-point samples (8, 10, 12, 14, 16hr) were compared.
2011-05-27 | E-GEOD-29554 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Background:Biofuel production from plant cell walls offers the potential for sustainable and economically attractive alternatives to petroleum-based products. In particular, Clostridium thermocellum is a promising host for consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) because of its strong native ability to ferment cellulose. Results:We tested 12 different enzyme combinations to identify an n-butanol pathway with high titer and thermostability in C. thermocellum. The best producing strain contained the thiolase-hydroxybutyryl-CoA dehydrogenase-crotonase (Thl-Hbd-Crt) module from Thermoanaerobacter thermosaccharolyticum, the trans-enoyl-CoA reductase (Ter) enzyme from Spirochaeta thermophila and the butyraldehyde dehydrogenase and alcohol dehydrogenase (Bad-Bdh) module from Thermoanaerobacter sp. X514 and was able to produce 88 mg/L n-butanol. The key enzymes from this combination were further optimized by protein engineering. The Thl enzyme was engineered by introducing homologous mutations previously identified in Clostridium acetobutylicum. The Hbd and Ter enzymes were engineered for changes in cofactor specificity using the CSR-SALAD algorithm to guide the selection of mutations. The cofactor engineering of Hbd had the unexpected side effect of also increasing activity by 50-fold. Conclusions:Here we report engineering C. thermocellum to produce n-butanol. Our initial pathway designs resulted in low levels (88 mg/L) of n-butanol production. By engineering the protein sequence of key enzymes in the pathway, we increased the n-butanol titer by 2.2-fold. We further increased n-butanol production by adding ethanol to the growth media. By combining all these improvements, the engineered strain was able to produce 357 mg/L of n-butanol from cellulose within 120 h.
| S-EPMC6652007 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundCost-efficient saccharification is one of the main bottlenecks for industrial lignocellulose conversion. Clostridium thermocellum naturally degrades lignocellulose efficiently using the cellulosome, a multiprotein supermolecular complex, and thus can be potentially used as a low-cost catalyst for lignocellulose saccharification. The industrial use of C. thermocellum is restrained due largely to the inhibition of the hydrolysate cellobiose to its cellulosome. Although the supplementation of beta-glucosidase may solve the problem, the production of the enzymes greatly complicates the process and may also increase the cost of saccharification.ResultsTo conquer the feedback inhibition and establish an efficient whole-cell catalyst for highly efficient cellulose saccharification, we constructed a recombinant strain of C. thermocellum ∆pyrF::CaBglA which produced a secretory exoglucanase CelS-bearing heterologous BGL using a newly developed seamless genome editing system. Without the extra addition of enzymes, the relative saccharification level of ∆pyrF::CaBglA was stimulated by over twofolds compared to its parent strain ∆pyrF through a two-stage saccharification process with 100 g/L Avicel as the carbon source. The production of reducing sugars and the relative saccharification level were further enhanced to 490 mM and 79.4%, respectively, with increased cell density.ConclusionsThe high cellulose-degrading ability and sugar productivity suggested that the whole-cell-catalysis strategy for cellulose saccharification is promising, and the C. thermocellum strain ∆pyrF::CaBglA could be potentially used as an efficient whole-cell catalyst for industrial cellulose saccharification.
| S-EPMC5429504 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Clostridium thermocellum is a thermophilic, anaerobic, cellulolytic bacterium that produces ethanol and acetic acid as major fermentation end products. The effect of growth conditions on gene expression in C. thermocellum ATCC 27405 was studied using cells grown in continuous culture under cellobiose or cellulose limitation over a approximately 10-fold range of dilution rates (0.013 to 0.16 h(-1)). Fermentation product distribution displayed similar patterns in cellobiose- or cellulose-grown cultures, including substantial shifts in the proportion of ethanol and acetic acid with changes in growth rate. Expression of 17 genes involved or potentially involved in cellulose degradation, intracellular phosphorylation, catabolite repression, and fermentation end product formation was quantified by real-time PCR, with normalization to two calibrator genes (recA and the 16S rRNA gene) to determine relative expression. Thirteen genes displayed modest (fivefold or less) differences in expression with growth rate or substrate type: sdbA (cellulosomal scaffoldin-dockerin binding protein), cdp (cellodextrin phosphorylase), cbp (cellobiose phosphorylase), hydA (hydrogenase), ldh (lactate dehydrogenase), ack (acetate kinase), one putative type IV alcohol dehydrogenase, two putative cyclic AMP binding proteins, three putative Hpr-like proteins, and a putative Hpr serine kinase. By contrast, four genes displayed >10-fold-reduced levels of expression when grown on cellobiose at dilution rates of >0.05 h(-1): cipA (cellulosomal scaffolding protein), celS (exoglucanase), manA (mannanase), and a second type IV alcohol dehydrogenase. The data suggest that at least some cellulosomal components are transcriptionally regulated but that differences in expression with growth rate or among substrates do not directly account for observed changes in fermentation end product distribution.
| S-EPMC1183361 | biostudies-literature