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Study of cellulases from a newly isolated thermophilic and cellulolytic Brevibacillus sp. strain JXL

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Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology

Abstract

A potentially novel aerobic, thermophilic, and cellulolytic bacterium designated as Brevibacillus sp. strain JXL was isolated from swine waste. Strain JXL can utilize a broad range of carbohydrates including: cellulose, carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), xylan, cellobiose, glucose, and xylose. In two different media supplemented with crystalline cellulose and CMC at 57°C under aeration, strain JXL produced a basal level of cellulases as FPU of 0.02 IU/ml in the crude culture supernatant. When glucose or cellobiose was used besides cellulose, cellulase activities were enhanced ten times during the first 24 h, but with no significant difference between these two simple sugars. After that time, however, culture with glucose demonstrated higher cellulase activities compared with that from cellobiose. Similar trend and effect on cellulase activities were also obtained when glucose or cellobiose served as a single substrate. The optimal doses of cellobiose and glucose for cellulase induction were 0.5 and 1%. These inducing effects were further confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images, which indicated the presence of extracellular protuberant structures. These cellulosome-resembling structures were most abundant in culture with glucose, followed by cellobiose and without sugar addition. With respect to cellulase activity assay, crude cellulases had an optimal temperature of 50°C and a broad optimal pH range of 6–8. These cellulases also had high thermotolerance as evidenced by retaining more than 50% activity at 100°C after 1 h. In summary, this is the first study to show that the genus Brevibacillus may have strains that can degrade cellulose.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. James Blackburn of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Energy Processes at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIUC) for providing the bacterial source sample. This research is supported by SIUC’s new faculty start-up funds. Financial support from SIUC’s Material Technology Center is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, 1230 Lincoln Dr., Carbondale, IL, 62901, USA

    Yanna Liang & Jemil Yesuf

  2. Integrated Microscopy and Graphics Expertise (IMAGE), Southern Illinois University Carbondale, 750 Communications Dr., Carbondale, IL, 62901, USA

    Steve Schmitt & John Bozzola

  3. Department of Microbiology, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, 1125 Lincoln Dr., Carbondale, IL, 62901, USA

    Kelly Bender

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  1. Yanna Liang
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  2. Jemil Yesuf
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Correspondence to Yanna Liang.

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Liang, Y., Yesuf, J., Schmitt, S. et al. Study of cellulases from a newly isolated thermophilic and cellulolytic Brevibacillus sp. strain JXL. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 36, 961–970 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10295-009-0575-2

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