Cellulase Production by Thermophilic Actinomyces Strain MJØr and Characterization of the Enzyme

Abstract

The utilization of cellulose is one of the major challenges to technology. Cellulose is a photosynthetic product of green plants and is a replenishable resource. The annual production of cellulose has been estimated at 80 billion tons (1). However, most of the cellulose is not in a form suited to human needs as food and fuel. The cellulose occurs mainly in combination with other polymers such as lignin and hemicellulose as insoluble lignocellu-lose fibers. The efficient utilization of cellulose by conversion to other useful materials would be simplified if the cellulose were hydrolyzed into soluble sugar such as glucose (Fig. 1). Complete hydrolysis can be achieved in 1% sulfuric acid at an elevated temperature (170–180°C)(2). Unfortunately, the process has a low yield of glucose and produces toxic byproducts such as furfural and acetic acid. Cellulose can also be degraded by living organisms at a moderate temperature and pH. The organisms product extracellular enzymes (cellulases) that hydrolyze the cellulose into soluble sugar. The sugar is utilized for growth. A process based on enzymatic saccharification might involve the use of isolated enzymes or the enzyme produced in situ by the organisms growing in the culture.