Currently, the catalytic residue of highly prolific fungal β-glucosidase (BGL) Trichoderma asperellum UC1 remains unvalidated. The study used alanine scanning method to confirm residues BGL as Glu165, Asp226, and Glu423. This cancels out all intermolecular hydrogen bonds with substrates, lignin, hemicellulose, cellulose. Results revealed an overall decline in stability energy-minimized mutant e...

Phylogenetic diversity of soil microbes is a hot topic at the moment. However, the molecular tools for the assessment of functional diversity in the fungal community are less developed than tools based on genes encoding the ribosomal operon. Here 20 sets of primers targeting genes involved mainly in carbon cycling were designed and/or validated and the functioning of soil fungal communities alo...

The dietary replacement of available carbohydrates (mainly starch) by digestible fibre was assessed on rabbit growth and digestion. Two diets supplying hemicellulose (diet HC) or a mix of hemicellulose and pectins (HC 1 P) were compared to a control diet having a higher starch content, but a similar content in low digested fibre (lignocellulose ADF 5 155 g/kg). Three groups of 17 rabbits were a...

Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook.) has been an important afforestation species in northeast China. It has obvious defects of buckling and cracking easily, which are caused by its chemical components. Trametes versicolor (L.) Lloyd, a white-rot fungus, can decompose the cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin in the wood. White-rot fungus was used to biologically degrade Chinese fi...

Disassembly of cell wall polysaccharides by various cell wall hydrolases during fruit softening causes structural changes in hemicellulose and pectin that affect the physical properties and softening of tomato fruit. In a previous study, we showed that the changes in pectin during tomato fruit ripening were unique in each fruit tissue. In this study, to clarify the changes in hemicellulose in t...

Two-stage dilute acid pretreatment followed by enzymatic cellulose hydrolysis is an effective method for obtaining high sugar yields from wood residues such as softwood forest thinnings. In the first-stage hydrolysis step, most of the hemicellulose is solubilized using relatively mild conditions. The soluble hemicellulosic sugars are recovered from the hydrolysate slurry by washing with water. ...

The biogas yield of rice straw during anaerobic digestion can be substantially increased through solid-state sodium hydroxide (NaOH) pretreatment. This study was conducted to explore the mechanisms of biogas yield enhancement. The chemical compositions of the pretreated rice straw were first analyzed. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), hydrogen-1 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H NMR)...

Cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) with an average diameter 8 nm were isolated from corncobs using a stepwise method that included steam-explosion pretreatment, alkaline treatment, sodium hypochlorite bleaching, highspeed blending, and ultrasonic treatment. This mechanochemical method used only two chemical reagents in low concentrations to remove noncellulosic components. The removal of non-cellulosi...