Investigation of the Cell-Wall Loosening Protein Expansin as a Possible Additive in the Enzymatic Saccharification of Lignocellulosic Biomass

摘要

Although the expansin effect, as observed under the present conditions, appears to be somewhat limited in magnitude, the observation that extremely small additions of expansin (0.1 mg of expansin/g of cellulose added to approx 8.35 mg of T. reesei protein/g of cellulose; Fig. 2) suffice to produce a consistent effect, makes this protein worthy of additional study. In addition, the apparent selectivity of the effect for certain cellulase systems suggests that further studies may identify the specific portion of the cellulose-depolymerization process with which the expansin is interacting.