A Novel Cold-Adaptive Endo-1,4-β-Glucanase From JK-SH007: Gene Expression and Characterization of the Enzyme and Mode of Action.

The efficient industrial conversion of plant-derived cellulose to simple sugars and other value-added chemicals requires various highly stable and reactive enzymes. Industrial processes especially synchronous saccharification and fermentation (SSF)-based production of cellulosic bio-ethanol require enzymes that are active at lower temperatures. In this study, we have identified, characterized, and expressed the cold-adaptive endo-1,4-β-glucanase (BpEG) isolated from the JK-SH007. The analysis of the predicted amino acid sequence indicated that BpEG belongs to GH family 8. The without the signal peptide was cloned into the expression vector pET32a and significantly expressed in BL21 (DE3) competent cells. The SDS-PAGE and Western blot analysis of BpEG revealed that the recombinant BpEG was approximately 60 kDa. Purified recombinant BpEG exhibited hydrolytic activity against carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and phosphoric acid swollen cellulose (PASC), but not crystalline cellulose and xylan substrates. High performance, anion exchange, chromatography-pulsed amperometric detector (HPAEC-PAD) analysis of the enzymatic products obtained from depolymerization of 1,4-β-linked biopolymers of different lengths revealed an interesting cutting mechanism employed by endoglucanases. The recombinant BpEG exhibited 6.0 of optimum pH and 35°C of optimum temperature, when cultured with CMC substrate. The BpEG enzyme exhibited stable activity between pH 5.0 and 9.0 at 35°C. Interestingly, BpEG retained about 42% of its enzymatic activity at 10°C compared to its optimal temperature. This new cold-adaptive cellulase could potentially achieve synchronous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) making BpEG a promising candidate in the fields of biofuel, biorefining, food and pharmaceutical industries.