BackgroundIn order to generate biofuels, insoluble cellulosic substrates are pretreated and subsequently hydrolyzed with cellulases. One way to pretreat cellulose in a safe and environmentally friendly manner is to apply, under mild conditions, non-hydrolyzing proteins such as swollenin - naturally produced in low yields by the fungus Trichoderma reesei. To yield sufficient swollenin for industrial applications, the first aim of this study is to present a new way of producing recombinant swollenin. The main objective is to show how swollenin quantitatively affects relevant physical properties of cellulosic substrates and how it affects subsequent hydrolysis.ResultsAfter expression in the yeast Kluyveromyces lactis, the resulting swollenin was purified. The adsorption parameters of the recombinant swollenin onto cellulose were quantified for the first time and were comparable to those of individual cellulases from T. reesei. Four different insoluble cellulosic substrates were then pretreated with swollenin. At first, it could be qualitatively shown by macroscopic evaluation and microscopy that swollenin caused deagglomeration of bigger cellulose agglomerates as well as dispersion of cellulose microfibrils (amorphogenesis). Afterwards, the effects of swollenin on cellulose particle size, maximum cellulase adsorption and cellulose crystallinity were quantified. The pretreatment with swollenin resulted in a significant decrease in particle size of the cellulosic substrates as well as in their crystallinity, thereby substantially increasing maximum cellulase adsorption onto these substrates. Subsequently, the pretreated cellulosic substrates were hydrolyzed with cellulases. Here, pretreatment of cellulosic substrates with swollenin, even in non-saturating concentrations, significantly accelerated the hydrolysis. By correlating particle size and crystallinity of the cellulosic substrates with initial hydrolysis rates, it could be shown that the swollenin-induced reduction in particle size and crystallinity resulted in high cellulose hydrolysis rates.ConclusionsRecombinant swollenin can be easily produced with the robust yeast K. lactis. Moreover, swollenin induces deagglomeration of cellulose agglomerates as well as amorphogenesis (decrystallization). For the first time, this study quantifies and elucidates in detail how swollenin affects different cellulosic substrates and their hydrolysis.

BackgroundThe enzymatic conversion of lignocellulosic plant biomass into fermentable sugars is a crucial step in the sustainable and environmentally friendly production of biofuels. However, a major drawback of enzymes from mesophilic sources is their suboptimal activity under established pretreatment conditions, e.g. high temperatures, extreme pH values and high salt concentrations. Enzymes from extremophiles are better adapted to these conditions and could be produced by heterologous expression in microbes, or even directly in the plant biomass.ResultsHere we show that a cellulase gene (sso1354) isolated from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus can be expressed in plants, and that the recombinant enzyme is biologically active and exhibits the same properties as the wild type form. Since the enzyme is inactive under normal plant growth conditions, this potentially allows its expression in plants without negative effects on growth and development, and subsequent heat-inducible activation. Furthermore we demonstrate that the recombinant enzyme acts in high concentrations of ionic liquids and can therefore degrade α-cellulose or even complex cell wall preparations under those pretreatment conditions.ConclusionThe hyperthermophilic endoglucanase SSO1354 with its unique features is an excellent tool for advanced biomass conversion. Here we demonstrate its expression in planta and the possibility for post harvest activation. Moreover the enzyme is suitable for combined pretreatment and hydrolysis applications.

The pSSVx genetic element from Sulfolobus islandicus REY15/4 is a hybrid between a plasmid and a fusellovirus, able to be maintained in non-integrative form and to spread when the helper SSV2 virus is present in the cells. In this work, the satellite virus was engineered to obtain an Escherichia coli–Sulfolobus solfataricus shuttle vector for gene transfer and expression in S.solfataricus by fusing site-specifically the pSSVx chromosome with an E.coli plasmid replicon and the ampicillin resistance gene. The pSSVx-based vector was proven functional like the parental virus, namely it was able to spread efficiently through infected S.solfataricus cells. Moreover, the hybrid plasmid stably transformed S.solfataricus and propagated with no rearrangement, recombination or integration into the host chromosome. The high copy number of the artificial genetic element was found comparable with that calculated for the wild-type pSSVx in the new host cells, with no need of genetic markers for vector maintenance in the cells and for transfomant enrichment.The newly constructed vector was also shown to be an efficient cloning vehicle for the expression of passenger genes in S.solfataricus. In fact, a derivative plasmid carrying an expression cassette of the lacS gene encoding the β-glycosidase from S.solfataricus under the control of the Sulfolobus chaperonine (thermosome tf55) heat shock promoter was also able to drive the expression of a functional enzyme. Complementation of the β-galactosidase deficiency in a deletion mutant strain of S.solfataricus demonstrated that lacS gene was an efficient marker for selection of single transformants on solid minimal lactose medium.

A sequence encoding a putative extracellular endoglucanase (sso1354) was identified in the complete genome sequence of Sulfolobus solfataricus. The encoded protein shares signature motifs with members of glycoside hydrolases family 12. After an unsuccessful first attempt at cloning the full-length coding sequences in Escherichia coli, an active but unstable recombinant enzyme lacking a 27-residue N-terminal sequence was generated. This 27-amino-acid sequence shows significant similarity with corresponding regions in the sugar binding proteins AraS, GlcS, and TreS of S. solfataricus that are responsible for anchoring them to the plasma membrane. A strategy based on an effective vector/host genetic system for Sulfolobus and on expression control by the promoter of the S. solfataricus gene which encodes the glucose binding protein allowed production of the enzyme in sufficient quantities for study. In fact, the enzyme expressed in S. solfataricus was stable and highly thermoresistant and showed optimal activity at low pH and high temperature. The protein was detected mainly in the plasma membrane fraction, confirming the structural similarity to the sugar binding proteins. The results of the protein expression in the two different hosts showed that the SSO1354 enzyme is endowed with an endo-␤-1-4-glucanase activity and specifically hydrolyzes cellulose. Moreover, it also shows significant but distinguishable specificity toward several other sugar polymers, such as lichenan, xylan, debranched arabinan, pachyman, and curdlan.