Structural studies and functional properties of xyloglucanases and lichenases: applications on hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass

• Grant number: 17/25862-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: April 01, 2018
• End date: June 04, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biochemistry - Biochemistry of Microorganisms
• Principal Investigator: Maria de Lourdes Teixeira de Moraes Polizeli
• Grantee: Alex Graça Contato
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 21/07066-3 - Molecular studies of a Trichoderma longibrachiatum xyloglucanase: cloning, heterologous expression, purification and characterization, BE.EP.DR

Abstract

The lignocellulosic biomass consists of three main components: cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. Its degradation and conversion are attractive in biotechnology. It is known that the carbohydrate polymers of the plant cell wall are not composed of randomly attached monosaccharides, but by polymers with fine and very stringent structures. This complex structure suggests that the cell wall could have a glycomic code, which would be the last barrier to efficient hydrolysis of the wall. However, cell wall fractionation is not a simple process, however, microbial enzymes may be the solution. Xyloglucan is the predominant hemicellulose of the primary cell wall of higher plants and plays a key role during cell growth and differentiation. In this way, the enzymes that cleave this polymer, the xyloglucanases, have great utility in the degradation and conversion of the lignocellulosic biomass. ’-glucans are the major linear polysaccharides in the cell wall endosperm of cereals. Its degradation is catalyzed by the ²-glucanases, among them the lichenases. The production of bioethanol is a process that has a relatively high cost. In this sense, fungi were the microorganisms chosen in this study, because they have an adaptation to environmental niches, which encourages the production of several enzymes potentially useful in industrial applications. The present work has as an innovative objective to carry out the prospection, production, biochemical characterization and molecular modeling of xyloglucanases and lichenses produced by filamentous fungi with potential for industrial application. These enzymes will be part of enzymatic cocktails that aim at the degradation of lignocellulosic material from sugar cane and other agricultural residues. This proposal is linked to the thematic project INCT of Bioethanol, coordinated by Prof. Dr. Marcos Silveira Buckeridge and already approved by FAPESP/CNPq in early 2017. (AU)

Scientific publications

(4)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

CONTATO, ALEX GRACA; DE OLIVEIRA, TASSIO BRITO; ARANHA, GUILHERME MAURO; DE FREITAS, EMANUELLE NEIVERTH; VICI, ANA CLAUDIA; VIEIRA NOGUEIRA, KAROLINE MARIA; DE LUCAS, ROSYMAR COUTINHO; DE ALMEIDA SCARCELLA, ANA SILVIA; BUCKERIDGE, MARCOS SILVEIRA; SILVA, ROBERTO NASCIMENTO; et al. Prospection of Fungal Lignocellulolytic Enzymes Produced from Jatoba (Hymenaea courbaril) and Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) Seeds: Scaling for Bioreactor and Saccharification Profile of Sugarcane Bagasse. MICROORGANISMS, v. 9, n. 3, MAR 2021. (14/50884-5, 18/25898-3, 17/23989-9, 18/07522-6, 17/09000-4, 17/25862-6, 08/57908-6)

ALEXANDER BRUCK, STEFAN; CONTATO, ALEX GRACA; GAMBOA-TRUJILLO, PAUL; DE OLIVEIRA, TASSIO BRITO; CEREIA, MARIANA; DE MORAES POLIZELI, MARIA DE LOURDES TEIXEIRA. Prospection of Psychrotrophic Filamentous Fungi Isolated from the High Andean Paramo Region of Northern Ecuador: Enzymatic Activity and Molecular Identification. MICROORGANISMS, v. 10, n. 2, p. 15-pg., 2022-02-01. (18/07522-6, 08/57908-6, 17/25862-6, 17/09000-4, 14/50884-5)

ARANHA, GUILHERME MAURO; CONTATO, ALEX GRACA; DOS SANTOS SALGADO, JOSE CARLOS; DE OLIVEIRA, TASSIO BRITO; RETAMIRO, KARINA MIYUKI; ORTOLAN, GUILHERME GUIMARAES; CREVELIN, EDUARDO JOSE; NAKAMURA, CELSO VATARU; BERALDO DE MORAES, LUIZ ALBERTO; PERALTA, ROSANE MARINA; et al. iochemical characterization and biological properties of mycelium extracts from Lepista sordida GMA-05 and Trametes hirsuta GMA-01: new mushroom strains isolated in Brazi. Brazilian Journal of Microbiology, v. 53, n. 1, p. 349-358, MAR 2022. (18/07522-6, 17/25862-6, 14/50884-5)

CONTATO, ALEX GRACA; VICI, ANA CLAUDIA; PINHEIRO, VANESSA ELISA; DE OLIVEIRA, TASSIO BRITO; DE FREITAS, EMANUELLE NEIVERTH; ARANHA, GUILHERME MAURO; APARECIDO VALVASSORA JUNIOR, ALMIR LUIZ; VARGAS RECHIA, CAREM GLEDES; BUCKERIDGE, MARCOS SILVEIRA; TEIXEIRA DE MORAES POLIZELI, MARIA DE LOURDES. Comparison of Trichoderma longibrachiatum Xyloglucanase Production Using Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) and Jatoba (Hymenaea courbaril) Seeds: Factorial Design and Immobilization on Ionic Supports. FERMENTATION-BASEL, v. 8, n. 10, p. 12-pg., 2022-10-01. (14/50884-5, 17/25862-6, 18/07522-6, 17/09000-4, 17/23989-9)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

CONTATO, Alex Graça. Molecular and functional studies of fungal xyloglucanases and lichenases: applications in the hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass. 2023. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto (PCARP/BC) Ribeirão Preto.