Abstract
Cellulase activity on insoluble cellulose substrates declines as the substrate is modified. The role of structural changes that result in substrate recalcitrance, such as changes to cellulose crystallinity, requires further investigation. Crystallinity of cellulose samples with varying extents of digestion can only be compared meaningfully using a high throughput - Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (HTS-FTIR) technique when the many variables involved are carefully controlled. Hence, changes to the HTS-FTIR sample preparation methods previously described in literature were necessary in order to obtain clean raw spectra and reliable measures of cellulose crystallinity. The sample preparation methods of residual cellulose after digestion by individual cellulases and a complex cellulase mixture from T. fusca were improved to remove extraneous overlapping signals, provide accurate extent of digestion, and correct errors caused by varying concentrations. These improved preparation methods enabled measurement of crystallinity index values of residual cellulose which did not show a correlation between cellulose crystallinity and the decline in cellulase activity.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arantes V, Saddler J (2010) Access to cellulose limits the efficiency of enzymatic hydrolysis: the role of amorphogenesis. Biotechnol Biofuels 3(4):1–11
Auta R, Adamus G, Kwiecien M, Radecka I, Hooley P (2016) Production and characterization of bacterial cellulose before and after enzymatic hydrolysis. Afr J Biotech 16(10):470–482
Boisset C, Chanzy H, Henrissat B, Lamed R, Shoham Y, Bayer E (1999) Digestion of crystalline cellulose substrates by the clostridium thermocellum cellulosome: structural and morphological aspects. Biochem J 340(3):829–835
Cannella D, Hsieh C, Felby C, Jogensen H (2012) Production and effect of aldonic acids during enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulose at high dry matter content. Biotechnol Biofuels 5(26):1–10
Cao Y, Tan H (2002) Effects of cellulase on the modification of cellulose. Carbohyd Res 337(14):1291–1296
Chalmers J (2006) Mid-infrared spectroscopy: anomalies, artifacts and common errors. Handb Vib Spectrosc 2327–2347
Chen Y, Stipanovix A, Winter W, Wilson D, Kim Y (2007) Effect of digestion by pure cellulases on crystallinity and average chain length for bacterial and microcrystalline celluloses. Cellulose 14:283–293
Corgie S, Smith H, Walker L (2011) Enzymatic transformations of cellulose assessed by quantitative high-throughput Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (QHT-FTIR). Biotechnol Bioeng 108(7):1509–1520
Donaldson L, Vaidya A (2017) Visualizing recalcitrance by colocalization of cellulase, lignin, and cellulose in pretreated pine biomass using fluorescence microscopy. Sci Rep 7:44386
Forsberg Z, Mackenzie A, Sorlie M, Rohr A, Helland R, Arvai A, Fijsink V (2014) Structural and functional characterization of a conserved pair of bacterial cellulose-oxidizing lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 111(23):8446–8451
Hu J, Gourlay K, Arantes V, Van Dyk J, Pribowo A, Saddler J (2015) The accessible cellulose surface influences cellulase synergism during the hydrolysis of lignocellulosic substrates. Chemsuschem 8(5):901–907
Hurtubise F, Krassig H (1960) Classification of fine structural characteristics in cellulose by infrared spectroscopy. Anal Chem 32(2):177–181
Igarashi K, Koivula A, Wada M, Kimura S, Penttila M, Samejima M (2009) High speed atomic force microscopy visualizes processive movement of Trichoderma reesei cellobiohydrolase I on crystalline cellulose. J Biol Chem 284(52):36186–36190
Irwin D, Zhang S, Wilson D (2000) Cloning, expression and characterization of a family 48 exocellulase, Cel48A, from Thermobifida fusca. Eur J Biochem 267(16):4988–4997
Irwin D, Leathers T, Greene R, Wilson D (2003) Corn fiber hydrolysis by Thermobifida fusca extracellular enzymes. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 61(4):352–358
Jeoh T, Santa-Maria MC, O’Dell PJ (2013) Assessing cellulose microfibrillar structure changes due to cellulase action. Carbohyd Polym 97(2):581–586
King B, Donnelly M, Bergstrom G, Walker L, Gibson D (2009) An optimized microplate assay system for quantitative evaluation of plant cell wall-degrading enzyme activity of fungal culture extracts. Biotechnol Bioeng 102(4):1033–1044
Kostylev M, Wilson D (2011) Determination of the catalytic base in family 48 glycosyl hydrolases. Appl Environ Microbiol 77(17):6274–6276
Kostylev M, Wilson D (2013) Two-parameter kinetic model based on a time-dependent activity coefficient accurately describes enzymatic cellulose digestion. Biochemistry 52(33):5656–5664
Kostylev M, Wilson D (2014) A distinct model of synergism between a processive endocellulase (TfCel9A) and an exocellulase (TfCel48A) from Thermobifida fusca. Appl Environ Microbiol 80(1):339–344
Kostylev M, Alahuhta M, Chen M, Brunecky R, Himmel M, Lunin V, Wilson D (2014) Cel48A from Thermobifida fusca: structure and site directed mutagenesis of key residues. Biotechnol Bioeng 111(4):664–673
Lever M (1977) Carbohydrate determination with 4-hydroxybenzoic acid hydrazide (PAHBAH): effect of bismuth on the reaction. Anal Biochem 81(1):21–27
Li Y, Irwin D, Wilson D (2010) Increased crystalline cellulose activity via combinations of amino acid changes in the family 9 catalytic domain and family 3c cellulose binding module of Thermobifida fusca Cel9a. Appl Environ Microbiol 76:2582–2588
Lionetto F, Del Sole R, Cannoletta D, Vasapollo G, Manffezzoli A (2012) Monitoring wood degradation during weathering by cellulose crystallinity. Materials 5(10):1910–1922
Mansfield S, Meder R (2003) Cellulose hydrolysis–the role of monocomponent cellulases in crystalline cellulose degradation. Cellulose 10(2):159–169
Mitchell A (1990) Second-derivative FT-IR spectra of native celluloses. Carbohyd Res 197:53–60
Nada A, Kamel S, El-Sahkhawy M (2000) Thermal behavior and infrared spectroscopy of cellulose carbamates. Polym Degrad Stab 70(3):347–355
Nelson M, O’Connor R (1964) Relation of certain infrared bands to cellulose crystallinity and crystal latticed type. Part I. Spectra of lattices types I, II, III, and of amorphous cellulose. J Appl Polym Sci 8(3):1311–1324
Olsen S, Borch K, Cruys-Bagger N, Westh P (2014) The role of product inhibition as a yield- determining factor in enzymatic high-solid hydrolysis of pretreated corn stover. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 174(1):146–155
Park S, Baker J, Himmel M, Parilla P, Johnson D (2010) Cellulose crystallinity index: measurement techniques and their impact on interpreting cellulase performance. Biotechnol Biofuels 3(10):1–10
Peciulyte A, Kiskis J, Larson P, Olssson L, Enejder A (2016) Visualization of structural changes in cellulosic substrates during enzymatic hydrolysis using multimodal nonlinear microscopy. Cellulose 23:1521–1536
Väljamäe P, Slid V, Pettersson G, Johansson G (1998) The initial kinetics of hydrolysis by cellobiohydrolases I and II is consistent with a cellulose surface-erosion model. Eur J Biochem 253(2):469–475
Väljamäe P, Kipper K, Pettersson G, Johansson G (2003) Synergistic cellulose hydrolysis can be described in terms of fractal-like kinetics. Biotechnol Bioeng 84(2):254–257
Xu F, Ding H (2007) A new kinetic model for heterogeneous (or spatially confined) enzymatic catalysis: contributions from the fractal and jamming (overcrowding) effects. Appl Catal A 317(1):70–81
Zhang S, Wolfgang D, Wilson D (1999) Substrate heterogeneity causes the nonlinear kinetics of insoluble cellulose hydrolysis. Biotechnol Bioeng 66(1):35–41
Zhang S, Irwin D, Wilson D (2000) Site-directed mutation of non-catalytic residues of Thermobifida fusca exocellulase Cel6B. Eur J Biochem 267(11):3101–3115
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Prof. Larry Walker from Cornell University. Work was funded by a grant from the US Department of Energy BioEnergy Science Center (BESC). The research was supported by a fellowship from Obra Social “La Caixa”.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kruer-Zerhusen, N., Cantero-Tubilla, B. & Wilson, D.B. Characterization of cellulose crystallinity after enzymatic treatment using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Cellulose 25, 37–48 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-017-1542-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-017-1542-0