scholarly journals Spatial Distribution and Diverse Metabolic Functions of Lignocellulose-Degrading Uncultured Bacteria as Revealed by Genome-Centric Metagenomics

2018 ◽  
Vol 84 (18) ◽  
Author(s):  
Panagiotis G. Kougias ◽  
Stefano Campanaro ◽  
Laura Treu ◽  
Panagiotis Tsapekos ◽  
Andrea Armani ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe mechanisms by which specific anaerobic microorganisms remain firmly attached to lignocellulosic material, allowing them to efficiently decompose organic matter, have yet to be elucidated. To circumvent this issue, microbiomes collected from anaerobic digesters treating pig manure and meadow grass were fractionated to separate the planktonic microbes from those adhered to lignocellulosic substrate. Assembly of shotgun reads, followed by a binning process, recovered 151 population genomes, 80 out of which were completely new and were not previously deposited in any database. Genome coverage allowed the identification of microbial spatial distribution in the engineered ecosystem. Moreover, a composite bioinformatic analysis using multiple databases for functional annotation revealed that uncultured members of theBacteroidetesandFirmicutesfollow diverse metabolic strategies for polysaccharide degradation. The structure of cellulosome inFirmicutesspecies can differ depending on the number and functional roles of carbohydrate-binding modules. In contrast, members of theBacteroidetesare able to adhere to and degrade lignocellulose due to the presence of multiple carbohydrate-binding family 6 modules in beta-xylosidase and endoglucanase proteins or S-layer homology modules in unknown proteins. This study combines the concept of variability in spatial distribution with genome-centric metagenomics, allowing a functional and taxonomical exploration of the biogas microbiome.IMPORTANCEThis work contributes new knowledge about lignocellulose degradation in engineered ecosystems. Specifically, the combination of the spatial distribution of uncultured microbes with genome-centric metagenomics provides novel insights into the metabolic properties of planktonic and firmly attached to plant biomass bacteria. Moreover, the knowledge obtained in this study enabled us to understand the diverse metabolic strategies for polysaccharide degradation in different species ofBacteroidetesandClostridiales. Even though structural elements of cellulosome were restricted toClostridialesspecies, our study identified a putative mechanism inBacteroidetesspecies for biomass decomposition, which is based on a gene cluster responsible for cellulose degradation, disaccharide cleavage to glucose, and transport to cytoplasm.

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Panagiotis G. Kougias ◽  
Stefano Campanaro ◽  
Laura Treu ◽  
Panagiotis Tsapekos ◽  
Andrea Armani ◽  
...  

AbstractThe mechanisms by which specific anaerobic microorganisms remain firmly attached to lignocellulosic material allowing them to efficiently decompose the organic matter are far to be elucidated. To circumvent this issue, the microbiomes collected from anaerobic digesters treating pig manure and meadow grass were fractionated to separate the planktonic microbes from those adhered to lignocellulosic substrate. Assembly of shotgun reads followed by binning process recovered 151 population genomes, 80 out of which were completely new and were not previously deposited in any database. Genome coverage allowed the identification of microbial spatial distribution into the engineered ecosystem. Moreover, a composite bioinformatic analysis using multiple databases for functional annotation revealed that uncultured members of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes follow diverse metabolic strategies for polysaccharide degradation. The structure of cellulosome in Firmicutes can vary depending on the number and functional roles of carbohydrate-binding modules. On contrary, members of Bacteroidetes are able to adhere and degrade lignocellulose due to the presence of multiple carbohydrate-binding family 6 modules in beta-xylosidase and endoglucanase proteins or S-layer homology modules in unknown proteins. This study combines the concept of variability in spatial distribution with genome-centric metagenomics allowing a functional and taxonomical exploration of the biogas microbiome.ImportanceThis work contributes new knowledge about lignocellulose degradation in engineered ecosystems. Specifically, the combination of the spatial distribution of uncultured microbes with genome-centric metagenomics provides novel insights into the metabolic properties of planktonic and firmly attached to plant biomass bacteria. Moreover, the knowledge obtained in this study enabled us to understand the diverse metabolic strategies for polysaccharide degradation in different species of Bacteroidetes and Clostridiales. Even though structural elements of cellulosome were restricted to Clostridiales, our study identified in Bacteroidetes a putative mechanism for biomass decomposition based on a gene cluster responsible for cellulose degradation, disaccharide cleavage to glucose and transport to cytoplasm.


2020 ◽  
Vol 86 (20) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan F. Russell ◽  
Matthew L. Russo ◽  
Xuewen Wang ◽  
Neal Hengge ◽  
Daehwan Chung ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Caldicellulosiruptor bescii secretes a large number of complementary multifunctional enzymes with unique activities for biomass deconstruction. The most abundant enzymes in the C. bescii secretome are found in a unique gene cluster containing a glycosyl transferase (GT39) and a putative peptidyl prolyl cis-trans isomerase. Deletion of the glycosyl transferase in this cluster resulted in loss of detectable protein glycosylation in C. bescii, and its activity has been shown to be responsible for the glycosylation of the proline-threonine rich linkers found in many of the multifunctional cellulases. The presence of a putative peptidyl prolyl cis-trans isomerase within this gene cluster suggested that it might also play a role in cellulase modification. Here, we identify this gene as a putative prsA prolyl cis-trans isomerase. Deletion of prsA2 leads to the inability of C. bescii to grow on insoluble substrates such as Avicel, the model cellulose substrate, while exhibiting no differences in phenotype with the wild-type strain on soluble substrates. Finally, we provide evidence that the prsA2 gene is likely needed to increase solubility of multifunctional cellulases and that this unique gene cluster was likely acquired by members of the Caldicellulosiruptor genus with a group of genes to optimize the production and activity of multifunctional cellulases. IMPORTANCE Caldicellulosiruptor has the ability to digest complex plant biomass without pretreatment and have been engineered to convert biomass, a sustainable, carbon neutral substrate, to fuels. Their strategy for deconstructing plant cell walls relies on an interesting class of cellulases consisting of multiple catalytic modules connected by linker regions and carbohydrate binding modules. The best studied of these enzymes, CelA, has a unique deconstruction mechanism. CelA is located in a cluster of genes that likely allows for optimal expression, secretion, and activity. One of the genes in this cluster is a putative isomerase that modifies the CelA protein. In higher eukaryotes, these isomerases are essential for the proper folding of glycoproteins in the endoplasmic reticulum, but little is known about the role of isomerization in cellulase activity. We show that the stability and activity of CelA is dependent on the activity of this isomerase.


2014 ◽  
Vol 80 (8) ◽  
pp. 2592-2601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kundi Zhang ◽  
Xiaohua Chen ◽  
Wolfgang H. Schwarz ◽  
Fuli Li

ABSTRACTTwo cellulolytic thermophilic bacterial strains, CS-3-2 and CS-4-4, were isolated from decayed cornstalk by the addition of growth-supporting factors to the medium. According to 16S rRNA gene-sequencing results, these strains belonged to the genusClostridiumand showed 98.87% and 98.86% identity withClostridiumstercorariumsubsp.leptospartumATCC 35414TandClostridiumcellulosiAS 1.1777T, respectively. The endoglucanase and exoglucanase activities of strain CS-4-4 were approximately 3 to 5 times those of strain CS-3-2, whereas the β-glucosidase activity of strain CS-3-2 was 18 times higher than that of strain CS-4-4. The xylanase activity of strain CS-3-2 was 9 times that of strain CS-4-4, whereas the β-xylosidase activity of strain CS-4-4 was 27 times that of strain CS-3-2. The enzyme activities in spent cultures following cocultivation of the two strains with cornstalk as the substrate were much greater than those in pure cultures or an artificial mixture of samples, indicating synergism of glycoside hydrolase secretomes between the two strains. Quantitative measurement of the two strains in the cocultivation system indicated that strain CS-3-2 grew robustly during the initial stages, whereas strain CS-4-4 dominated the system in the late-exponential phase. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis of protein bands appearing in the native zymograms showed that ORF3880 and ORF3883 from strain CS-4-4 played key roles in the lignocellulose degradation process. Both these open reading frames (ORFs) exhibited endoglucanase and xylanase activities, but ORF3880 showed tighter adhesion to insoluble substrates at 4, 25, and 60°C owing to its five carbohydrate-binding modules (CBMs).


2011 ◽  
Vol 77 (15) ◽  
pp. 5483-5489 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angel Angelov ◽  
Christoph Loderer ◽  
Susanne Pompei ◽  
Wolfgang Liebl

ABSTRACTSpirochaeta thermophilais a thermophilic, free-living, and cellulolytic anaerobe. The genome sequence data for this organism have revealed a high density of genes encoding enzymes from more than 30 glycoside hydrolase (GH) families and a noncellulosomal enzyme system for (hemi)cellulose degradation. Functional screening of a fosmid library whose inserts were mapped on theS. thermophilagenome sequence allowed the functional annotation of numerous GH open reading frames (ORFs). Seven different GH ORFs from theS. thermophilaDSM 6192 genome, all putative β-glycanase ORFs according to sequence similarity analysis, contained a highly conserved novel GH-associated module of unknown function at their C terminus. Four of these GH enzymes were experimentally verified as xylanase, β-glucanase, β-glucanase/carboxymethylcellulase (CMCase), and CMCase. Binding experiments performed with the recombinantly expressed and purified GH-associated module showed that it represents a new carbohydrate-binding module (CBM) that binds to microcrystalline cellulose and is highly specific for this substrate. In the course of this work, the new CBM type was only detected inSpirochaeta, but recently we found sequences with detectable similarity to the module in the draft genomes ofCytophaga fermentansandMahella australiensis, both of which are phylogenetically very distant fromS. thermophilaand noncellulolytic, yet inhabit similar environments. This suggests a possibly broad distribution of the module in nature.


2018 ◽  
Vol 84 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura L. Lee ◽  
Sara E. Blumer-Schuette ◽  
Javier A. Izquierdo ◽  
Jeffrey V. Zurawski ◽  
Andrew J. Loder ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTMetagenomic data from Obsidian Pool (Yellowstone National Park, USA) and 13 genome sequences were used to reassess genus-wide biodiversity for the extremely thermophilicCaldicellulosiruptor. The updated core genome contains 1,401 ortholog groups (average genome size for 13 species = 2,516 genes). The pangenome, which remains open with a revised total of 3,493 ortholog groups, encodes a variety of multidomain glycoside hydrolases (GHs). These include three cellulases with GH48 domains that are colocated in the glucan degradation locus (GDL) and are specific determinants for microcrystalline cellulose utilization. Three recently sequenced species,Caldicellulosiruptorsp. strain Rt8.B8 (renamed hereCaldicellulosiruptor morganii),Thermoanaerobacter cellulolyticusstrain NA10 (renamed hereCaldicellulosiruptor naganoensis), andCaldicellulosiruptorsp. strain Wai35.B1 (renamed hereCaldicellulosiruptor danielii), degraded Avicel and lignocellulose (switchgrass).C. morganiiwas more efficient thanCaldicellulosiruptor besciiin this regard and differed from the other 12 species examined, both based on genome content and organization and in the specific domain features of conserved GHs. Metagenomic analysis of lignocellulose-enriched samples from Obsidian Pool revealed limited new information on genus biodiversity. Enrichments yielded genomic signatures closely related to that ofCaldicellulosiruptor obsidiansis, but there was also evidence for other thermophilic fermentative anaerobes (Caldanaerobacter,Fervidobacterium,Caloramator, andClostridium). One enrichment, containing 89.8%Caldicellulosiruptorand 9.7%Caloramator, had a capacity for switchgrass solubilization comparable to that ofC. bescii. These results refine the known biodiversity ofCaldicellulosiruptorand indicate that microcrystalline cellulose degradation at temperatures above 70°C, based on current information, is limited to certain members of this genus that produce GH48 domain-containing enzymes.IMPORTANCEThe genusCaldicellulosiruptorcontains the most thermophilic bacteria capable of lignocellulose deconstruction, which are promising candidates for consolidated bioprocessing for the production of biofuels and bio-based chemicals. The focus here is on the extant capability of this genus for plant biomass degradation and the extent to which this can be inferred from the core and pangenomes, based on analysis of 13 species and metagenomic sequence information from environmental samples. Key to microcrystalline hydrolysis is the content of the glucan degradation locus (GDL), a set of genes encoding glycoside hydrolases (GHs), several of which have GH48 and family 3 carbohydrate binding module domains, that function as primary cellulases. Resolving the relationship between the GDL and lignocellulose degradation will inform efforts to identify more prolific members of the genus and to develop metabolic engineering strategies to improve this characteristic.


2012 ◽  
Vol 78 (17) ◽  
pp. 6161-6171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Sygmund ◽  
Daniel Kracher ◽  
Stefan Scheiblbrandner ◽  
Kawah Zahma ◽  
Alfons K. G. Felice ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe genome ofNeurospora crassaencodes two different cellobiose dehydrogenases (CDHs) with a sequence identity of only 53%. So far, only CDH IIA, which is induced during growth on cellulose and features a C-terminal carbohydrate binding module (CBM), was detected in the secretome ofN. crassaand preliminarily characterized. CDH IIB is not significantly upregulated during growth on cellulosic material and lacks a CBM. Since CDH IIB could not be identified in the secretome, both CDHs were recombinantly produced inPichia pastoris. With the cytochrome domain-dependent one-electron acceptor cytochromec, CDH IIA has a narrower and more acidic pH optimum than CDH IIB. Interestingly, the catalytic efficiencies of both CDHs for carbohydrates are rather similar, but CDH IIA exhibits 4- to 5-times-higher apparent catalytic constants (kcatandKmvalues) than CDH IIB for most tested carbohydrates. A third major difference is the 65-mV-lower redox potential of the hemebcofactor in the cytochrome domain of CDH IIA than CDH IIB. To study the interaction with a member of the glycoside hydrolase 61 family, the copper-dependent polysaccharide monooxygenase GH61-3 (NCU02916) fromN. crassawas expressed inP. pastoris. A pH-dependent electron transfer from both CDHs via their cytochrome domains to GH61-3 was observed. The different properties of CDH IIA and CDH IIB and their effect on interactions with GH61-3 are discussed in regard to the proposedin vivofunction of the CDH/GH61 enzyme system in oxidative cellulose hydrolysis.


2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (9) ◽  
pp. 1232-1235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruna Medeia Campos ◽  
Thabata Maria Alvarez ◽  
Marcelo Vizona Liberato ◽  
Igor Polikarpov ◽  
Harry J. Gilbert ◽  
...  

In recent years, owing to the growing global demand for energy, dependence on fossil fuels, limited natural resources and environmental pollution, biofuels have attracted great interest as a source of renewable energy. However, the production of biofuels from plant biomass is still considered to be an expensive technology. In this context, the study of carbohydrate-binding modules (CBMs), which are involved in guiding the catalytic domains of glycoside hydrolases for polysaccharide degradation, is attracting growing attention. Aiming at the identification of new CBMs, a sugarcane soil metagenomic library was analyzed and an uncharacterized CBM (CBM_E1) was identified. In this study, CBM_E1 was expressed, purified and crystallized. X-ray diffraction data were collected to 1.95 Å resolution. The crystals, which were obtained by the sitting-drop vapour-diffusion method, belonged to space groupI23, with unit-cell parametersa=b=c= 88.07 Å.


2012 ◽  
Vol 78 (19) ◽  
pp. 7048-7059 ◽  
Author(s):  
Libin Ye ◽  
Xiaoyun Su ◽  
George E. Schmitz ◽  
Young Hwan Moon ◽  
Jing Zhang ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTA large polypeptide encoded in the genome of the thermophilic bacteriumCaldicellulosiruptor besciiwas determined to consist of two glycoside hydrolase (GH) modules separated by two carbohydrate-binding modules (CBMs). Based on the detection of mannanase and endoglucanase activities in the N-terminal GH5 and the C-terminal GH44 module, respectively, the protein was designated CbMan5B/Cel44A. A GH5 module with >99% identity from the same organism was characterized previously (X. Su, R. I. Mackie, and I. K. Cann, Appl. Environ. Microbiol.78:2230-2240, 2012); therefore, attention was focused on CbMan5A/Cel44A-TM2 (or TM2), which harbors the GH44 module and the two CBMs. On cellulosic substrates, TM2 had an optimal temperature and pH of 85°C and 5.0, respectively. Although the amino acid sequence of the GH44 module of TM2 was similar to those of other GH44 modules that hydrolyzed cello-oligosaccharides, cellulose, lichenan, and xyloglucan, it was unique that TM2 also displayed modest activity on mannose-configured substrates and xylan. The TM2 protein also degraded Avicel with higher specific activity than activities reported for its homologs. The GH44 catalytic module is composed of a TIM-like domain and a β-sandwich domain, which consists of one β-sheet at the N terminus and nine β-sheets at the C terminus. Deletion of one or more β-sheets from the β-sandwich domain resulted in insoluble proteins, suggesting that the β-sandwich domain is essential for proper folding of the polypeptide. Combining TM2 with three other endoglucanases fromC. besciiled to modest synergistic activities during degradation of cellulose, and based on our results, we propose a model for cellulose hydrolysis and utilization byC. bescii.


2015 ◽  
Vol 81 (6) ◽  
pp. 2006-2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dong-Dong Meng ◽  
Yu Ying ◽  
Xiao-Hua Chen ◽  
Ming Lu ◽  
Kang Ning ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTXylanases are crucial for lignocellulosic biomass deconstruction and generally contain noncatalytic carbohydrate-binding modules (CBMs) accessing recalcitrant polymers. Understanding how multimodular enzymes assemble can benefit protein engineering by aiming at accommodating various environmental conditions. Two multimodular xylanases, XynA and XynB, which belong to glycoside hydrolase families 11 (GH11) and GH10, respectively, have been identified fromCaldicellulosiruptorsp. strain F32. In this study, both xylanases and their truncated mutants were overexpressed inEscherichia coli, purified, and characterized. GH11 XynATM1 lacking CBM exhibited a considerable improvement in specific activity (215.8 U nmol−1versus 94.7 U nmol−1) and thermal stability (half-life of 48 h versus 5.5 h at 75°C) compared with those of XynA. However, GH10 XynB showed higher enzyme activity and thermostability than its truncated mutant without CBM. Site-directed mutagenesis of N-terminal amino acids resulted in a mutant, XynATM1-M, with 50% residual activity improvement at 75°C for 48 h, revealing that the disordered region influenced protein thermostability negatively. The thermal stability of both xylanases and their truncated mutants were consistent with their melting temperature (Tm), which was determined by using differential scanning calorimetry. Through homology modeling and cross-linking analysis, we demonstrated that for XynB, the resistance against thermoinactivation generally was enhanced through improving both domain properties and interdomain interactions, whereas for XynA, no interdomain interactions were observed. Optimized intramolecular interactions can accelerate thermostability, which provided microbes a powerful evolutionary strategy to assemble catalysts that are adapted to various ecological conditions.


2011 ◽  
Vol 78 (3) ◽  
pp. 768-777 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inci Ozdemir ◽  
Sara E. Blumer-Schuette ◽  
Robert M. Kelly

ABSTRACTThe genusCaldicellulosiruptorcontains extremely thermophilic bacteria that grow on plant polysaccharides. The genomes ofCaldicellulosiruptorspecies reveal certain surface layer homology (SLH) domain proteins that have distinguishing features, pointing to a role in lignocellulose deconstruction. Two of these proteins inCaldicellulosiruptor saccharolyticus(Csac_0678 and Csac_2722) were examined from this perspective. In addition to three contiguous SLH domains, the Csac_0678 gene encodes a glycoside hydrolase family 5 (GH5) catalytic domain and a family 28 carbohydrate-binding module (CBM); orthologs to Csac_0678 could be identified in all genome-sequencedCaldicellulosiruptorspecies. Recombinant Csac_0678 was optimally active at 75°C and pH 5.0, exhibiting both endoglucanase and xylanase activities. SLH domain removal did not impact Csac_0678 GH activity, but deletion of the CBM28 domain eliminated binding to crystalline cellulose and rendered the enzyme inactive on this substrate. Csac_2722 is the largest open reading frame (ORF) in theC. saccharolyticusgenome (predicted molecular mass of 286,516 kDa) and contains two putative sugar-binding domains, two Big4 domains (bacterial domains with an immunoglobulin [Ig]-like fold), and a cadherin-like (Cd) domain. Recombinant Csac_2722, lacking the SLH and Cd domains, bound to cellulose and had detectable carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) hydrolytic activity. Antibodies directed against Csac_0678 and Csac_2722 confirmed that these proteins bound to theC. saccharolyticusS-layer. Their cellular localization and functional biochemical properties indicate roles for Csac_0678 and Csac_2722 in recruitment and hydrolysis of complex polysaccharides and the deconstruction of lignocellulosic biomass. Furthermore, these results suggest that related SLH domain proteins in otherCaldicellulosiruptorgenomes may also be important contributors to plant biomass utilization.


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