Biochemistry and Industrial Biotechnology (BIB) Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy.
Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano Bicocca, 20126 Milano, Italy.
Int J Mol Sci. 2024 Sep 13;25(18):9887. doi: 10.3390/ijms25189887.
The rise of agro-industrial activities over recent decades has exponentially increased lignocellulose biomasses (LCB) production. LCB serves as a cost-effective source for fermentable sugars and other renewable chemicals. This study explores the use of microbial consortia, particularly thermophilic consortia, for LCB deconstruction. Thermophiles produce stable enzymes that retain activity under industrial conditions, presenting a promising approach for LCB conversion. This research focused on two microbial consortia (i.e., microbiomes) that were analyzed for enzyme production using a cheap medium, i.e., a mixture of spent mushroom substrate (SMS) and digestate. The secreted xylanolytic enzymes were characterized in terms of temperature and pH optima, thermal stability, and hydrolysis products from LCB-derived polysaccharides. These enzymes showed optimal activity aligning with common biorefinery conditions and outperformed a formulated enzyme mixture in thermostability tests in the digestate. Phylogenetic and genomic analyses highlighted the genetic diversity and metabolic potential of these microbiomes. was identified as a key species, with two distinct strains contributing to enzyme production. The presence of specific glycoside hydrolases involved in the cellulose and hemicellulose degradation underscores these consortia's capacity for efficient LCB conversion. These findings highlight the potential of thermophilic microbiomes, isolated from an industrial environment, as a robust source of robust enzymes, paving the way for more sustainable and cost-effective bioconversion processes in biofuel and biochemical production and other biotechnological applications.
近几十年来，农业产业活动的兴起使木质纤维素生物质（LCB）的产量呈指数级增长。LCB 是一种具有成本效益的发酵糖和其他可再生化学品的来源。本研究探讨了微生物群落，特别是嗜热群落，在 LCB 解构中的应用。嗜热菌产生的稳定酶在工业条件下保持活性，为 LCB 转化提供了一种很有前途的方法。本研究集中于两个微生物群落（即微生物组），它们使用廉价培养基（即蘑菇废料基质（SMS）和消化物的混合物）来分析酶的产生。对分泌的木聚糖酶进行了温度和 pH 最佳值、热稳定性以及来自 LCB 衍生多糖的水解产物的特性研究。这些酶的最佳活性与常见的生物炼制条件一致，并且在消化物中的热稳定性测试中优于配方酶混合物。系统发育和基因组分析突出了这些微生物组的遗传多样性和代谢潜力。 被鉴定为关键物种，两种不同的菌株有助于酶的产生。存在涉及纤维素和半纤维素降解的特定糖苷水解酶，强调了这些群落高效转化 LCB 的能力。这些发现突出了来自工业环境的嗜热微生物组作为强大酶源的潜力，为生物燃料和生化生产以及其他生物技术应用中的更可持续和更具成本效益的生物转化过程铺平了道路。
