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Research advances in expansins and expansion-like proteins involved in lignocellulose degradation

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An Erratum to this article was published on 01 March 2016

Abstract

Biofuel derived from lignocellulosic biomass has attracted considerable attention as a renewable energy source. Nevertheless, the conversion of lignocellulose into fermentable sugars is inherently difficult because of the complex structures of lignocelluloses. Accessory proteins, like expansins, have a non-hydrolytic disruptive effect on crystalline cellulose and can synergistically cooperate with cellulase to improve hydrolysis efficiency. This review summarizes recent studies on expansins and expansin-like proteins, in terms of their expression and purification, synergism in lignocellulose hydrolysis, structure–function studies and binding characteristics. Future research prospects are also presented. This review provides a discussion of expansins in the context of lignocellulose hydrolysis.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC-30900033).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. R&D Center for Petrochemical Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, People’s Republic of China

    Xuewei Liu, Yuanyuan Ma & Minhua Zhang

  2. Department of Biochemical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, People’s Republic of China

    Xuewei Liu

  3. Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, R&D Center for Petrochemical Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, People’s Republic of China

    Minhua Zhang

  4. Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering, Tianjin, 300072, People’s Republic of China

    Minhua Zhang

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  1. Xuewei Liu
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  2. Yuanyuan Ma
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  3. Minhua Zhang
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Correspondence to Yuanyuan Ma.

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Liu, X., Ma, Y. & Zhang, M. Research advances in expansins and expansion-like proteins involved in lignocellulose degradation. Biotechnol Lett 37, 1541–1551 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-015-1842-0

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