ABSTRACT
Polysaccharide degrading enzymes from commercial T. reesei broth have been subjected to "fingerprint" analysis by high-resolution 2-D gel electrophoresis. Forty-five spots from 11 x 25 cm Pharmacia gels have been analyzed by LC-MS/MS and the resulting peptide sequences were compared to existing databases. Understanding the roles and relationships of component enzymes from the T. reesei cellulase system acting on complex substrates is key to the development of efficient artificial cellulase systems for the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to sugars. These studies suggest follow-on work comparing induced and noninduced T. reesei cells at the proteome level, which may elucidate substrate-specific gene regulation and response.
Subject(s)
Cellulase/chemistry , Glycoside Hydrolases/chemistry , Trichoderma/enzymology , Biotechnology , Carbohydrate Metabolism , Cellulase/genetics , Cellulase/isolation & purification , Chromatography, Liquid , Electrophoresis, Gel, Two-Dimensional , Ethanol/metabolism , Glycoside Hydrolases/genetics , Glycoside Hydrolases/isolation & purification , Mass Spectrometry , Peptide Mapping , Proteome , Trichoderma/geneticsABSTRACT
Pichia pastoris was transformed with the Trichoderma reesei cbh1 gene, and the recombinant enzyme was purified and analyzed kinetically and by circular dichroism. The P. pastoris rCBH I was recognized by MoAb raised to T. reesei CBH I but was found in multiple molecular weight species on SDS-PAGE gels. Carbohydrate content determination and SDS-PAGE western analysis indicated that the recombinant protein was hyperglycosylated, although a species very similar in molecular weight to the T. reesei enzyme could be isolated chromatographically. The P. pastoris rCBH I also demonstrated activity toward soluble and insoluble substrates (i.e., pNPL and Sigmacell), although at a level significantly lower than the wild-type enzyme. More seriously, the yeast-expressed enzyme showed non-wild-type secondary structure by circular dichroism. We conclude that P. pastoris may not serve as an adequate host for the site-directed mutagenesis of T. reesei CBH I.
Subject(s)
Cellulase/biosynthesis , Cellulase/genetics , Pichia/metabolism , Trichoderma/enzymology , Amino Acid Sequence , Base Sequence , Cellulose 1,4-beta-Cellobiosidase , Circular Dichroism , Cloning, Molecular , Kinetics , Molecular Sequence Data , Pichia/genetics , Recombinant Proteins/biosynthesis , Recombinant Proteins/genetics , Sequence Analysis, Protein , Trichoderma/geneticsABSTRACT
A new saccharification assay has been devised, in which a continuously buffer-swept membrane reactor is used to remove the solubilized saccharification products, thus allowing high extents of substrate conversion without significant inhibitory effects from the buildup of either cellobiose or glucose. This diafiltration saccharification assay (DSA) can, therefore, be used to obtain direct measurements of the performance of combinations of cellulase and substrate under simulated SSF conditions, without the saccharification results being complicated by factors that may influence the subsequent fermentation step. This assay has been used to compare the effectiveness of commercial and special in-house-produced Trichoderma reesei cellulase preparations in the saccharification of a standardized microcrystalline (Sigmacell) substrate and a dilute-acid pretreated lignocellulosic substrate. Initial results strongly suggest that enzyme preparations produced in the presence of the targeted lignocellulosic substrate will saccharify that substrate more effectively. These results call into question the widespread use of the "filter paper assay" as a reliable predictor of enzyme performance in the extensive hydrolysis of substrates that are quite different from filter paper in both physical properties and chemical composition.
