The scientists from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati have been examining the effectiveness of an enzyme that can decompose woody biomass into simple sugars which could be used to produce a renewable fuel that could substitute petroleum-based fuel systems. The research was headed by Professor Arun Goyal from the Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT Guwahati, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Lisbon, Portugal and was published in the International Journal of Biological Macromolecules. This was a part of the PhD thesis of Parmeshwar Vitthal Gavande, a doctoral student of Professor Arun Goyal.
IIT Guwahati researchers have proven the effectiveness of RfGH5_4, a novel endoglucanase, in the breakdown of lignocellulosic and hemicellulosic biomass for the production of ethanol based biofuel. This enzyme was obtained from a bacterium known as Ruminococcus flavefaciens, according to the statement from IIT Guwahati.
The IIT Guwahati team opted for Ruminococcus flavefaciens as it is found in the gut of cows and other cud-chewing animals who have been exposed to cellulosic pressure for millions of years. They were able to isolate the gene for the cellulase enzyme, RfGH5_4, from R. flavefaciens, thus creating a powerful machinery to break down cellulose and related materials into simple sugars. The bacterium has at least 14 different multimodular enzymes to process cellulose, one of which is RfGH5_4.
Prof. Arun Goyal of the Dept. of Biosciences and Bioengineering at IIT Guwahati discussed their research on Endoglucanase, RfGH5_4, which was found to break down carboxymethyl cellulose (a simulated version of cellulose) and regular amorphous cellulose more efficiently. Additionally, the enzyme was seen to work effectively on lignocellulosic substrates found in agricultural waste such as cotton stalk, sorghum stalk, and sugarcane bagasse, and had a strong affinity for hemicellulosic substrates such as β-glucan, lichenan, xyloglucan, konjac glucomannan, xylan, and carob galactomannan.
