Novel Xylanase from a Holstein Cattle Rumen Metagenomic Library and its Application in Xylooligosaccharide and Ferulic Acid Production from Wheat Straw

摘要

A novel gene fragment containing a xylanase was identified from a Holstein cattle rumen metagenomic library. The novel xylanase (Xyln-SH1) belonged to the glycoside hydrolase family 10 (GH10) and exhibited a maximum of 44% identity to the glycoside hydrolase from Clostridium thermocellum ATCC 27405. Xyln-SH1 was heterologously expressed, purified, and characterized. A high level of activity was obtained under the optimum conditions of pH 6.5 and 40 °C. A substrate utilization study indicated that Xyln-SHl was cellulase-free and strictly specific to xylan from softwood. The synergistic effects of Xyln-SHl and feruloyl esterase (FAE-SHl) were observed for the release of xylooligosaccharides (XOS) and ferulic acid (FA) from wheat straw. In addition, a high dose of Xyln-SHl alone was observed to improve the release of FA from wheat straw. These features suggest that this enzyme has substantial potential to improve biomass degradation and industrial applications.