Effect of sodium hydroxide treatment of bacterial cellulose on cellulase activity

The synergistic action between Thermobifida fusca exocellulase Cel6B and endocellulase Cel5A on sodium hydroxide pretreated bacterial cellulose (BC) was determined. The activities of Cel6B and Cel5A were tested singly and both activities were dramatically increased on pretreated BC, especially in the early stage of hydrolysis. Cel5A, which attacks the cellulose chain randomly, showed a larger increase on NaOH treated BC than Cel6B. Mixtures of the two enzymes were also able to degrade NaOH treated BC faster than BC and the kinetics of the mixture differed from that of the individual enzymes. The degree of synergistic effect (DSE) on BC decreased dramatically with time of hydrolysis. However, the DSE on NaOH treated BC was almost constant throughout the incubation, with a smaller effect at higher NaOH concentrations. The change caused by NaOH did not increase the DSE, although each individual cellulase activity increased. This showed that synergistic activity was more effective on recalcitrant cellulose, which requires effective cooperation between the cellulase components for hydrolysis.