title: Discovery of the combined oxidative cleavage of plant xylan and cellulose by a new fungal polysaccharide monooxygenase.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Many agricultural and industrial food by-products are rich in cellulose and xylan. Their enzymatic degradation into monosaccharides is seen as a basis for the production of biofuels and bio-based chemicals. Lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) constitute a group of recently discovered enzymes, classified as the auxiliary activity subgroups AA9, AA10, AA11 and AA13 in the CAZy database. LPMOs cleave cellulose, chitin, starch and β-(1 → 4)-linked substituted and non-substituted glucosyl units of hemicellulose under formation of oxidized gluco-oligosaccharides.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Here, we demonstrate a new LPMO, obtained from Myceliophthora thermophila C1 (MtLPMO9A). This enzyme cleaves β-(1 → 4)-xylosyl bonds in xylan under formation of oxidized xylo-oligosaccharides, while it simultaneously cleaves β-(1 → 4)-glucosyl bonds in cellulose under formation of oxidized gluco-oligosaccharides. In particular, MtLPMO9A benefits from the strong interaction between low substituted linear xylan and cellulose. MtLPMO9A shows a strong synergistic effect with endoglucanase I (EGI) with a 16-fold higher release of detected oligosaccharides, compared to the oligosaccharides release of MtLPMO9A and EGI alone.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Now, for the first time, we demonstrate the activity of a lytic polysaccharide monooxygenase (MtLPMO9A) that shows oxidative cleavage of xylan in addition to cellulose. The ability of MtLPMO9A to cleave these rigid regions provides a new paradigm in the understanding of the degradation of xylan-coated cellulose. In addition, MtLPMO9A acts in strong synergism with endoglucanase I. The mode of action of MtLPMO9A is considered to be important for loosening the rigid xylan-cellulose polysaccharide matrix in plant biomass, enabling increased accessibility to the matrix for hydrolytic enzymes. This discovery provides new insights into how to boost plant biomass degradation by enzyme cocktails for biorefinery applications.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Food Chemistry, Wageningen University, Bornse Weilanden 9, 6708 WG Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Frommhagen
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Food Chemistry, Wageningen University, Bornse Weilanden 9, 6708 WG Wageningen, The Netherlands ; Department of Food Science, University of Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze 59a, University Campus, 43124 Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sforza
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Biochemistry, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Adrie H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Westphal
authors.affiliation: Dyadic Netherlands, Nieuwe Kanaal 7-S, 6709 PA Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jaap
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Visser
authors.affiliation: Dyadic Netherlands, Nieuwe Kanaal 7-S, 6709 PA Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Sandra W A
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Hinz
authors.affiliation: Dyadic Netherlands, Nieuwe Kanaal 7-S, 6709 PA Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Martijn J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Koetsier
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Biochemistry, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Willem J H
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: van Berkel
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Food Chemistry, Wageningen University, Bornse Weilanden 9, 6708 WG Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Harry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gruppen
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Food Chemistry, Wageningen University, Bornse Weilanden 9, 6708 WG Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Mirjam A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Kabel
keywords: Biorefinery; Cellulose; Endoglucanase; LPMO; Myceliophthora thermophila C1; Xylan