Production and Characterization of Thermoalkaliphilic Xylanase from Bacillus halodurans CM1 on Degumming Process of Ramie (Boehmeria nivea L.Gaud)Fiber as Textile Raw Material

Ramie fiber is a potential raw material to substitute imported raw materials such as cotton. Due to its higher hemicellulose content, ramie fiber required hydrolysis in a process called degumming. Enzymatic degumming is environmentally friendly compared to traditional process which using chemicals. Alkalithermophilic xylanase have high ability in hemicellulose hydrolysis. The production of xylanase was conducted by submerged fermentation of Bacillus halodurans CM1 in 20L bioreactor using Mamo and corncob medium with optimum conditions at 50°C, pH 9, 150 RPM and 1 vvm. The optimum specific activity of xylanase measured by Bailey method at 70°C and pH 9 is 475.41 U/mg. Xylanase was stable at 50°C, pH 9 and relatively stable to K+, Na2+, Co2+ and Ca2+ metal ions and Triton-X, Saba dan Tween-80 surfactants. Degumming process was carried out by immersing ramie fibers in formulated degumming solution with vlot 1:20 at 50°C, 150 RPM and 180 minutes. The enzymatic degumming process may substitute or reduce the use of chemicals due to its significant effect on ramie fiber quality. Enzymatic and chemical degumming process reduce the weight of Ramie Fiber to 7.23 %, and 7.72 %, slightly higher than enzymatic degumming 7.15%. Enzymatic degumming maintains tensile strength at 27.51 %. Whiteness index enhanced to 2.99% enzymatically and 3.49% chemically. Keywords: Bacillus halodurans CM1, enzymatic degumming, ramie fiber, textile industry, thermoalkaliphilic xylanase

Extraction of sugarcane bagasse arabinoxylan, integrated with enzymatic production of xylo-oligosaccharides and separation of cellulose

Sugarcane processing roughly generates 54 million tonnes sugarcane bagasse (SCB)/year, making SCB an important material for upgrading to value-added molecules. In this study, an integrated scheme was developed for separating xylan, lignin and cellulose, followed by production of xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS) from SCB. Xylan extraction conditions were screened in: (1) single extractions in NaOH (0.25, 0.5, or 1 M), 121 °C (1 bar), 30 and 60 min; (2) 3 × repeated extraction cycles in NaOH (1 or 2 M), 121 °C (1 bar), 30 and 60 min or (3) pressurized liquid extractions (PLE), 100 bar, at low alkalinity (0–0.1 M NaOH) in the time and temperature range 10–30 min and 50–150 °C. Higher concentration of alkali (2 M NaOH) increased the xylan yield and resulted in higher apparent molecular weight of the xylan polymer (212 kDa using 1 and 2 M NaOH, vs 47 kDa using 0.5 M NaOH), but decreased the substituent sugar content. Repeated extraction at 2 M NaOH, 121 °C, 60 min solubilized both xylan (85.6% of the SCB xylan), and lignin (84.1% of the lignin), and left cellulose of high purity (95.8%) in the residuals. Solubilized xylan was separated from lignin by precipitation, and a polymer with β-1,4-linked xylose backbone substituted by arabinose and glucuronic acids was confirmed by FT-IR and monosaccharide analysis. XOS yield in subsequent hydrolysis by endo-xylanases (from glycoside hydrolase family 10 or 11) was dependent on extraction conditions, and was highest using xylan extracted by 0.5 M NaOH, (42.3%, using Xyn10A from Bacillus halodurans), with xylobiose and xylotriose as main products. The present study shows successful separation of SCB xylan, lignin, and cellulose. High concentration of alkali, resulted in xylan with lower degree of substitution (especially reduced arabinosylation), while high pressure (using PLE), released more lignin than xylan. Enzymatic hydrolysis was more efficient using xylan extracted at lower alkaline strength and less efficient using xylan obtained by PLE and 2 M NaOH, which may be a consequence of polymer aggregation, via remaining lignin interactions.

Revealing Microbiome Structure and Assembly Process in Three Rhizocompartments of Achyranthes bidentata Under Continuous Monoculture Regimes

The complex composition and interaction of root-associated microbes are critical to plant health and performance. In this study, we presented a detailed characterization of three rhizocompartment (rhizosphere, rhizoplane, and root) microbiomes of Achyranthes bidentata under different years of consecutive monoculture by deep sequencing in order to determine keystone microorganisms via co-occurrence network analysis. The network analysis showed that multiple consecutive monoculture (MCM, represented 5Y and 10Y) soils generated some distinct beneficial bacterial taxa such as Bacillus, Fictibacillus, Bradyrhizobium, Shinella, and Herbaspirillum. For fungi, Mortierella substituted for Fusarium in occupying an important position in different rhizocompartments under A. bidentate monoculture. Quantitative PCR analysis confirmed a significant increase in Bacillus, Pseudomonas, and Burkholderia spp. The results of the inoculation assay showed that addition of beneficial bacteria Bacillus subtilis 74 and Bacillus halodurans 75 significantly increased the root length and fresh weight of A. bidentata. Furthermore, three types of phytosterones, as the main allochemicals, were identified both in the rhizosphere soil and in culture medium under sterile conditions by LC-MS/MS. When looking at in vitro interactions, it was found that phytosterones displayed a positive interaction with dominant beneficial species (Bacillus amyloliquefaciens 4 and B. halodurans 75) and had a negative effect on the presence of the pathogenic fungi Fusarium solani and Fusarium oxysporum. Overall, this study demonstrated that consecutive monoculture of A. bidentata can alter the bacterial and fungal community by secreting root exudates, leading to recruitment of beneficial microbes and replacement of plant-specific pathogenic fungi with plant beneficial fungi.

Characterization of recombinant Bacillus halodurans CM1 xylanase produced by Pichia pastoris KM71 and its potential application in bleaching process of bagasse pulp

Thermoalkalophilic xylanases promise potential application in pulp biobleaching to reduce the use of toxic chlorinated chemical agents, which are harmful to the environment. In this study, a thermoalkalophilic endoxylanase gene (bhxyn3) originating from Indonesian indigenous Bacillus halodurans CM1 was cloned into yeast expression vector pPICZα A and expressed in Pichia pastoris KM71 under the control of AOX1 promoter. Recombinant P. pastoris expressed the highest final level of xylanase (146 U/mL) on BMGY medium after five days of cultivation. Optimization of xylanase production on a small scale was carried out by varying the methanol concentrations and the optimal xylanase production by the recombinant P. pastoris was observed in the culture with 2% (v/v) methanol after four days of the induction phase. The recombinant xylanase (BHxyn3E) was thermotolerant and alkalophilic, with an optimal temperature at around 55‐65 °C and under pH 8.0. The enzyme activity was slightly induced by K+, Fe2+, and MoO42‐. Enzymatic bleaching of bagasse pulp with no prior pH adjustment (pH 9) using BHxyn3E at 200 U/g oven dried pulp increased the lightness index (L*) and changed substantially the color a index (a*); however, the treatments did not change the whiteness index in a significant way. Therefore, further optimization and assessment such as adjustment of incubation temperature and pH in biobleaching were needed to reduce the use of harmful chemical agents in industrial applications.

Production and Characterisation Partial Lipase of Bacillus halodurans Cml Mutant for Biodetergen

This study aims to produce lipase of the Bacillus halodurans CM1 mutant and its assess partial characteristics, performed in Bora and Bora modified medium. The purification was conducted using Ultrafiltration (UF), ammonium sulfate (AS) and polyethylene glycol (PEG). Results revealed that the highest purity lipase of B. halodurans CM1 mutant was 1.49-fold from the UF-AS-dyalisis, with a molecular weight of 35.7-37.4 KDa. The optimum condition of lipase enzyme was achieved at pH 7 and temperature 50 °C, relatively stable at pH 7-8 and temperature 30-70 °C. Mg2+, Ca2+, Zn2+, Mn2+, Fe2+ and K+ ions of concentrations, 1 mM to 10 mM increased enzyme lipase activity. The Km value was 0.23 mg/mL and Vmax 4.07 U/mL. Lipase was stable with the addition of a detergent concentration of 1-2% (69.60-57.10%), and with the washing test, the enzyme capable of hydrolyzing oil on cloth is 8.40%.

Structure of a bacterial OapB protein with its OLE RNA target gives insights into the architecture of the OLE ribonucleoprotein complex

The OLE (ornate, large, and extremophilic) RNA class is one of the most complex and well-conserved bacterial noncoding RNAs known to exist. This RNA is known to be important for bacterial responses to stress caused by short-chain alcohols, cold, and elevated Mg2+ concentrations. These biological functions have been shown to require the formation of a ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complex including at least two protein partners: OLE-associated protein A (OapA) and OLE-associated protein B (OapB). OapB directly binds OLE RNA with high-affinity and specificity and is believed to assist in assembling the functional OLE RNP complex. To provide the atomic details of OapB–OLE RNA interaction and to potentially reveal previously uncharacterized protein–RNA interfaces, we determined the structure of OapB from Bacillus halodurans alone and in complex with an OLE RNA fragment at resolutions of 1.0 Å and 2.0 Å, respectively. The structure of OapB exhibits a K-shaped overall architecture wherein its conserved KOW motif and additional unique structural elements of OapB form a bipartite RNA-binding surface that docks to the P13 hairpin and P12.2 helix of OLE RNA. These high-resolution structures elucidate the molecular contacts used by OapB to form a stable RNP complex and explain the high conservation of sequences and structural features at the OapB–OLE RNA-binding interface. These findings provide insight into the role of OapB in the assembly and biological function of OLE RNP complex and can guide the exploration of additional possible OLE RNA-binding interactions present in OapB.