Faculty of Science
Microbiology and Immunology

Cellulase catalysis on cell surfaces using Caulobacter S-layer display

A schematic of the design of the biocatalyst

Publication Date

Publication Journal

iScience

Author(s)

Beth Davenport, Tamar Av-Shalom, Kateryna Ievdokymenko, and Steven J. Hallam

Lignocellulosic biomass, produced from plant and agricultural waste, is an abundant renewable resource that could be used for sustainable energy and materials production. Efficiently breaking down cellulose requires specialized enzymes called cellulases. In this study, the authors engineered the surface (S)-layer of Caulobacter vibrioides to display functional cellulases directly on bacterial cells. They demonstrated that the displayed enzymes retained their catalytic activity and that different cellulases could work together to improve cellulose degradation. This work demonstrates the potential of using living, whole-cell microbial systems for sustainable biomass processing.

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Microbiology and Immunology

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