The binding of cellulase variants to dislocations: a semi-quantitative analysis based on CLSM (confocal laser scanning microscopy) images.

Binding of enzymes to the substrate is the first step in enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulose, a key process within biorefining. During this process elongated plant cells such as fibers and tracheids have been found to break into segments at irregular cell wall regions known as dislocations or slip planes. Here we study whether cellulases bind to dislocations to a higher extent than to the surrounding cell wall. The binding of fluorescently labelled cellobiohydrolases and endoglucanases to filter paper fibers was investigated using confocal laser scanning microscopy and a ratiometric method was developed to assess and quantify the abundance of the binding of cellulases to dislocations as compared to the surrounding cell wall. Only Humicola insolens EGV was found to have stronger binding preference to dislocations than to the surrounding cell wall, while no difference in binding affinity was seen for any of the other cellulose variants included in the study (H. insolens EGV variants, Trichoderma reesei CBHI, CBHII and EGII). This result favours the hypothesis that fibers break at dislocations during the initial phase of hydrolysis mostly due to mechanical failure rather than as a result of faster degradation at these locations.

Enzyme affinity to cell types in wheat straw (Triticum aestivum L.) before and after hydrothermal pretreatment.

BACKGROUND: Wheat straw used for bioethanol production varies in enzymatic digestibility according to chemical structure and composition of cell walls and tissues. In this work, the two biologically different wheat straw organs, leaves and stems, are described together with the effects of hydrothermal pretreatment on chemical composition, tissue structure, enzyme adhesion and digestion. To highlight the importance of inherent cell wall characteristics and the diverse effects of mechanical disruption and biochemical degradation, separate leaves and stems were pretreated on lab-scale and their tissue structures maintained mostly intact for image analysis. Finally, samples were enzymatically hydrolysed to correlate digestibility to chemical composition, removal of polymers, tissue composition and disruption, particle size and enzyme adhesion as a result of pretreatment and wax removal. For comparison, industrially pretreated wheat straw from Inbicon A/S was included in all the experiments. RESULTS: Within the same range of pretreatment severities, industrial pretreatment resulted in most hemicellulose and epicuticular wax/cutin removal compared to lab-scale pretreated leaves and stems but also in most re-deposition of lignin on the surface. Tissues were furthermore degraded from tissues into individual cells while lab-scale pretreated samples were structurally almost intact. In both raw leaves and stems, endoglucanase and exoglucanase adhered most to parenchyma cells; after pretreatment, to epidermal cells in all the samples. Despite heavy tissue disruption, industrially pretreated samples were not as susceptible to enzymatic digestion as lab-scale pretreated leaves while lab-scale pretreated stems were the least digestible. CONCLUSIONS: Despite preferential enzyme adhesion to epidermal cells after hydrothermal pretreatment, our results suggest that the single most important factor determining wheat straw digestibility is the fraction of parenchyma cells rather than effective tissue disruption.

Bovine colostrum modulates immune activation cascades in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells in vitro.

Bovine colostrum (BC) is the thick yellow fluid a lactating cow gives to a suckling calf during its first days of life to support the growth of the calf and prevent gastrointestinal infections until the calf has synthesized its own active immune defense system. BC contains a complex system of immune factors and has a long history of use in traditional medicine. In an approach to evaluate the effects of bovine colostrum (BC) on the T-cell/macrophage interplay, we investigated and compared the capacity of BC containing low and high amounts of lactose and lactoferrin to modulate tryptophan degradation and neopterin formation in unstimulated and mitogen-stimulated human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). The present study shows significant immunomodulatory effects of these BC preparations in human PBMC, either by enhancing or suppressing the occurrence of a Th-1 type immune response. The amount of lactose present in BC seems to diminish the activity of BC in our test system, since BC with higher amounts of lactose attenuated the stimulatory as well as the suppressive activity of BC.

Acid phosphatase production by Aspergillus niger N402A in continuous flow culture.

The production of acid phosphatases (E.C.3.1.3.2, ACPs) by Aspergillus niger N402A is regulated by specific growth rate, as well as phosphate availability and pH, as demonstrated by studies in continuous flow culture. Specific ACP activity was highest when A. niger was grown at pH 6.3 (64+/-8 U g(-1)) or pH 2.8 (99+/-11 U g(-1)), at a dilution rate of 0.07 h(-1) and phosphate concentrations below 0.46 mM. ACP production was growth correlated for specific growth rates between 0.07 and 0.13 h(-1). Four different ACPs, including two phytases, were produced by A. niger N402A. The ACP and the phytase with maximal activities at pH 5.5 were differentially expressed at different culture pH values, with greater production at low pH.