Lignocellulosic biomass is the most abundant renewable resource on the planet. Converting this material into a usable fuel is a multi-step process, the rate-limiting step being enzymatic hydrolysis of organic polymers into monomeric sugars.  While the substrate can be complex and require a multitude of enzymatic activities, many bacteria and fungal organisms have evolved efficient methods to combat this apparent bottleneck.  One strategy is the tethering or harnessing of various enzymes onto a multifunctional �cellulosome�.  We have developed an artificial ring scaffold which can tether up to eighteen lignocellulolytic enzymes to form designer cellulosomes.  These artificial cellulosomes have been tested against pure cellulose substrates as well as more complex heterogenous biomass materials.  We demonstrate that enzyme blends complexed onto the ring scaffold have greater enzymatic activity than free enzymes.

Lignocellulose hydrolysis by multienzyme complexes

248th National Meeting (2014)

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