Harnessing Glycosylation to Improve Cellulase Activity

Journal Article · Fri Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 2012 · Current Opinion in Biotechnology

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copbio.2011.11.030· OSTI ID:1045063

Beckham, Gregg T.; Dai, Ziyu; Matthews, James F.; Momany, Michelle; Payne, Christina M.; Adney, William S.; Baker, Scott E.; Himmel, Michael E.

Cellulases and hemicellulases are responsible for the turnover of plant cell wall polysaccharides in the biosphere, and thus form the foundation of enzyme engineering efforts in biofuels research. Many of these carbohydrate-active enzymes from filamentous fungi contain both N-linked and O-linked glycosylation, the extent and heterogeneity of which depends on growth conditions, expression host, and the presence of glycan trimming enzymes in the secretome, all of which in turn impact enzyme activity. As the roles of glycosylation in enzyme function have not been fully elucidated, here we discuss the potential roles of glycosylation on glycoside hydrolase enzyme structure and function after secretion. We posit that glycosylation, instead of hindering cellulase engineering, can be used as an additional tool to enhance enzyme activity, given deeper understanding of its molecular-level role in biomass deconstruction.

• Research Organization: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Bioenergy Technologies Office (EE-3B)
• DOE Contract Number: AC36-08GO28308
• OSTI ID: 1045063
• Report Number(s): NREL/JA-5100-53669
• Journal Information: Current Opinion in Biotechnology, Journal Name: Current Opinion in Biotechnology Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 23
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

09 BIOMASS FUELS
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
BIOFUELS
BIOMASS
BIOSPHERE
CELLULASE
ENZYME ACTIVITY
ENZYMES
FUNGI
GLYCOSIDES
HYDROLASES
PLANT CELLS
POLYSACCHARIDES
SECRETION
biofuels
cellulases
enzyme activity
glycosylation
hemicellulases