Author
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Saha, Badal |
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Submitted to: United States Japan Natural Resources Protein Panel
Publication Type: Proceedings Publication Acceptance Date: 10/19/2001 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Corn fiber can serve as a low cost carbohydrate feedstock for production of fuel ethanol and other value-added fermentation products. The structure of arabinoxylan in corn fiber is very complex and commercially available hemicellulase preparations do not effectively saccharify it. A fungus, Fusarium verticillioides (NRRL 26518), was isolated by screening soil samples using corn fiber xylan as carbon source. The extracellular xylanase and beta-xylosidase from this fungal strain were purified to homogeneity. The purified xylanase (specific activity, 492 U/mg protein; MW, 24,000; pI, 8.6, optimum temperature, 50 deg C; optimum pH, 5.5) released xylobiose and higher xylooligosaccharides from various xylan substrates. The purified beta-xylosidase (specific activity, 57 U/mg protein; MW, 94,000; pI, 7.8, optimum temperature, 65 deg C; optimum pH, 4.5-5.0) hydrolyzed xylobiose and higher xylooligosaccharides to xylose. The biochemical properties and modes of action of these two enzymes and their synergistic role in xylan hydrolysis are presented. |
