Creation of Chitinase Producer and Disruption of Micromycete Cell Wall with the Obtained Enzyme Preparation.

A recombinant strain producing a complex of extracellular enzymes including chitinase from Myceliophtora thermophila was created based on the fungus Penicillium verruculosum. The activity of the enzyme preparations obtained from the cultural fluid of the producer strain was 0.55, 0.53, and 0.66 U/mg protein with chitin and chitosans with the molecular weight of 200 and 1000 kDa, respectively. The temperature optimum for the recombinant chitinase was 52-65°C; the pH optimum was 4.5-6.2, which corresponded to the published data for this class of the enzymes. The content of heterologous chitinase in the obtained enzyme preparations was 47% of total protein content in the cultural fluid. Enzyme preparations produced by the recombinant P. verruculosum XT403 strain and containing heterologous chitinase were able to degrade the mycelium of micromycetes, including phytopathogenic ones, and were very efficient in the bioconversion of microbiological industry waste.

[Novel Enzyme Preparations with High Pectinase and Hemicellulase Activity Based on Penicillium canescens Strains].

Recombinant strains of Penicillium canescens producing homologous pectin lyase A and heterologous endo- 1,5-α-arabinase A and endo- 1,4-α-polygalacturonase, as well as enzymes of the host strain (α-L-arabinofuranosidases, xylanases, and others), were obtained by genetic engineering. The enzyme preparations (EPs) obtained from the cultural medium of recombinant P. canescens strains efficiently hydrolyzed raw plant material with a high content of pectin compounds. It was shown that the yield of reducing sugars and arabinose increased 16 and 22% in comparison with the control EP based on the host strain when one of the obtained EPs was used for beet pulp hydrolysis. It was established that the most active EP consisted of pectin lyase (10%), endo-1,5-arabinase (26%), α-L-arabinofuranosidase and arabinoxylan-arabinofuranohydrolase (12%), and xylanase (10%). The activities of pectin lyase, polygalacturonase, and arabinase of the EP in reactions with various substrates were determined. The specificity, pH and T-optima, and thermal stability of the homogenous recombinant endo- 1,5-α-arabinase were investigated. The kinetic parameters (K(m), K(cat)) of the linear arabinan hydrolysis were determined.

[Construction of Producers of Cellulolytic and Pectinolytic Enzymes Based on the Fungus Penicillium verruculosum].

Based on the fungus Penicillium verruculosum, we created strains with a complex of extracellular enzymes that contains both cellulolytic enzymes of the fungus and heterologous pectin lyase A from P. canescens and endo- 1,4-α-polygalacturonase from Aspergillus niger. The endopolygalacturonase and pectin lyase activities of enzyme preparations obtained from culture media of the producer strains reached 46-53 U/mg of protein and 1.3-2.3 U/mg of protein, respectively. The optimal temperature and pH values for recombinant pectin lyase and endopolygalacturonase corresponded to those described in the literature for these enzymes. The content of heterologous endopolygalacturonase and pectin lyase in the studied enzyme preparations was 4-5% and 23% of the total protein content, respectively. The yield of reducing sugars upon the hydrolysis of sugar beet and apple processing wastes with the most efficient preparation was 41 and 71 g/L, respectively, which corresponded to a polysaccharide conversion of 49% and 65%. Glucose was the main product of the hydrolysis of sugar beet and apple processing wastes.

[Cultivation of a novel cellulase/xylanase producer, Trichoderma longibrachiatum mutant TW 1-59-27: production of the enzyme preparation and the study of its properties].

As a result of gamma-mutagenesis of Trichoderma longibrachiatum TW1 and the subsequent selection of improved producers, a novel mutant strain, TW1-59-27, capable of efficiently secreting cellulase and xylanase was obtained. In a fed-batch cultivation, the new TW1-59-27 mutant was significantly more active compared with the original TW1 strain. For instance, the activities of cellulase (towards carboxymethylcellulose) and xylanase in the culture broth (CB) increased by 1.8 and two times, respectively, and the protein content increased by 1.47 times. The activity of these enzymes in the dry enzyme preparation derived from the CB of the TW1-59-27 mutant was 1.3-1.8 times higher than that in the preparation derived from the original TW1 strain. It was established that the cellulase from the enzyme preparation of the mutant strain demonstrated the maximum activity at 55-65 degrees C; it occurred in xylanase at 60 degrees C. The pH optima of these enzymes were pH 4.5-5.0 and pH 5.0-6.0, respectively. It was shown that the content of endoglucanases in the enzyme preparation increased from 7% to 13.5%; the effect is largely driven by the secretion of endoglucanase-1. An enzyme preparation with increased endoglucanase-1 content is promising for use as a feed additive in agriculture.

[Use of Endoglucanase IV from Trichoderma reesei to Enhance the Hydrolytic Activity of a Cellulase Complex from the Fungus Penicillium verruculosum].

The effect of polysaccharide monooxygenase (endoglucanase IV) from the fungus Trichoderma reesei on the hydrolysis of polysaccharide substrates by cellulases secreted by the fungus Penicillium verruculosum has been investigated. Supplementation of the enzyme complex from P. verruculosum by endoglucanase IV from T. reesei has been shown to elevate the efficiency of cellulose hydrolysis by 45%.