Thermoascus aurantiacus is a promising source of enzymes for biomass deconstruction under thermophilic conditions.

Background: Thermophilic fungi have attracted increased interest for their ability to secrete enzymes that deconstruct biomass at high temperatures. However, development of thermophilic fungi as enzyme producers for biomass deconstruction has not been thoroughly investigated. Comparing the enzymatic activities of thermophilic fungal strains that grow on targeted biomass feedstocks has the potential to identify promising candidates for strain development.

Designer xylanosomes: protein nanostructures for enhanced xylan hydrolysis.

This work reports the successful design, construction, and application of multi-functional, self-assembling protein complex, termed xylanosomes. Using the architecture of cellulosomes as template, these structures were designed specifically for hemicellulose hydrolysis. Four different xylanosomes were developed, with up to three different hemicellulase activities combined into a single structure.

Novel bacterial ferulic acid esterase from Cellvibrio japonicus and its application in ferulic acid release and xylan hydrolysis.

Recent genome sequencing of Cellvibrio japonicas revealed the presence of two highly homologous ferulic acid esterases (FAEs), encoded by fee1A and fee1B. In this work, the putative FAE, Fee1B, was successfully cloned and expressed in an E. coli system and the purified enzyme was characterized as a type-D FAE with a pH and temperature optima of 6.