Cellulose is a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of b (1!4) linked D-glucose and it is the most abundant polymer on earth. As a major structural component of the cell wall, cellulose accounts for about one-third of plant mass. The regulation of cellulose biosynthesis is essential to plant development. Cellulose is synthesised by the cellulose synthase (CESA) complex in the plasma memb...

Fibrobacter succinogenes is an important member of the rumen microbial community that converts plant biomass into nutrients usable by its host. This bacterium, which is also one of only two cultivated species in its phylum, is an efficient and prolific degrader of cellulose. Specifically, it has a particularly high activity against crystalline cellulose that requires close physical contact with...

Cell walls are metabolically active components of plant cells. They contain diverse enzymes, including transglycanases (endotransglycosylases), enzymes that 'cut and paste' certain structural polysaccharide molecules and thus potentially remodel the wall during growth and development. Known transglycanase activities modify several cell-wall polysaccharides (xyloglucan, mannans, mixed-linkage β-...

Cellulose hydrogels are extensively applied in many biotechnological fields and are also used as models for plant cell walls. We synthesised model cellulosic hydrogels containing hemicelluloses, as a biomimetic of plant cell walls, in order to study the role of hemicelluloses on their mass transport properties. Microbial cellulose is able to self-assemble into composites when hemicelluloses, su...

In this study, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) were combined to investigate the adsorption behavior of two platelet adhesion-related blood proteins, human serum albumin (HSA) and human serum fibrinogen (HSF), on two polysaccharide materials used for hemodialysis membrane applications: regenerated cellulose and cellulose acetate...

The main objective of this paper is to assess the effect of different viscosity-enhancing admixture (VEA) types and concentrations on deformability and stability of self-consolidating concrete (SCC). Two polysaccharide-based VEAs, one cellulose-based VEA, and a modified-startch VEA are used in this investigation. Regardless of polymer type, results showed that the incorporation of VEA leads to ...

Lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) are a class of powerful oxidative enzymes that breakdown recalcitrant polysaccharides such as cellulose. Here we investigate the action of LPMOs on cellulose fibers. After enzymatic treatment and dispersion, LPMO-treated fibers show intense fibrillation. Cellulose structure modifications visualized at different scales indicate that LPMO creates nickin...

Densified Wood Films In article number 2205056, Qi Zhou and co-workers show that cellulose-oxidizing enzyme lytic polysaccharide monooxygenase (LPMO) can nanofibrillate cellulose microfibril bundles inside the wood cell wall, altering microstructure. Therefore, delignified be densified under ambient temperature low pressure into transparent, foldable, ultrastrong films. This enzymatic approach ...

Cellulose is a heterogeneous polysaccharide, and its enzymatic hydrolysis requires endoglucanase, exoglucanase (cellobiohydrolase), and beta-glucosidase to work together. We summarize the most commonly used assays for individual enzymes and cellulase mixture.

Competition isotherms are used to identify the set of cellulose substructures to which cellulose binding modules (CBMs) from families 2a, 3, 4, 9, and 17 bind. The experiments are based on coupling a unique fluorescent tag to each CBM in a manner that does not alter the natural binding properties of the CBM and therefore allows the surface and solution concentrations of each CBM to be monitored...