Fungi and Lignocellulosic Biomass

Christian P. Kubicek is a Professor at the Institute of Chemical Engineering at the Vienna University of Technology, is Head of the Institute's Research Division of Biotechnology and Microbiology, has authored more than 300 refereed journal articles and more than 20 book chapters, and has served as an editor and editorial board member for several international peer reviewed journals.

Preface ix 1 The Plant Biomass 1 1.1 The Structure of Plant Cell Wall 1 1.2 Chemical and Physicochemical Properties of the Major Plant Cell Wall Constituents 3 1.3 Abundant Sources of Carbohydrate Polymers and Their Monomer Composition 13 1.4 Biosynthesis of Plant Cell Wall Polymers 16 1.5 Strategies for Manipulating Wall Composition 26 2 The Actors: Plant Biomass Degradation by Fungi 29 2.1 Ecological Perspectives 29 2.2 The Major Three Mechanisms of Lignocellulose Degradation by Fungi 30 2.3 Plant Cell Wall Degradation by Plant Pathogenic Fungi 40 2.4 Anaerobic Fungi 41 3 The Tools-Part 1: Enzymology of Cellulose Degradation 45 3.1 General Properties and Classification of Enzymes That Hydrolyze Polysaccharides 45 3.2 Fungal Cellulolytic Enzymes 49 3.3 Nonenzymatic Proteins Involved in Cellulose Hydrolysis 65 4 The Tools-Part 2: Enzymology of Hemicellulose Degradation 69 4.1 Xyloglucan Hydrolysis 69 4.2 Degradation of the Xylan Backbone 72 4.3 Degradation of the Galactomannan Backbone 78 4.4 Degradation of Pectin 80 4.5 Accessory Glycoside Hydrolases for Hemicelluloses Degradation 84 4.6 Other Accessory Enzymes 92 5 The Tools-Part 3: Enzymology of Lignin Degradation 99 5.1 Lignin Peroxidase 101 5.2 Manganese Peroxidase 105 5.3 Versatile Peroxidase 108 5.4 Dye-Oxidizing Peroxidase 109 5.5 Laccases 110 5.6 Enzymes Generating Hydrogen Peroxide 115 5.7 Cellobiose Dehydrogenase 116 5.8 Enzymes Essential for Oxalic Acid Formation 117 5.9 Glycopeptides 118 6 Catabolic Pathways of Soluble Degradation Products from Plant Biomass 119 6.1 Uptake of Mono- and Oligosaccharides 119 6.2 Metabolism of D-Glucose and D-Mannose 121 6.3 Catabolism of D-Galactose 122 6.4 Catabolism of Pentoses 125 6.5 Catabolism of Hexuronic Acids 127 7 Regulation of Formation of Plant Biomass-Degrading Enzymes in Fungi 129 7.1 The Cellulase Inducer Enigma 129 7.2 Inducers for Hemicellulases 133 7.3 Transcriptional Regulation of Cellulase and Hemicellulase Gene Expression 134 7.4 Regulation of Ligninase Gene Expression 146 8 The Fungal Secretory Pathways and Their Relation to Lignocellulose Degradation 149 8.1 The Fungal Secretory Pathway 149 8.2 Protein Glycosylation 159 8.3 Strategies for Improvement of the Fungal Secretory Pathway 161 9 Production of Cellulases and Hemicellulases by Fungi 165 9.1 Fungal Producer Strains 165 9.2 Strain Improvement 170 9.3 Cellulase Production 180 10 Production of Fermentable Sugars from Lignocelluloses 185 10.1 Pretreatment Technologies 186 10.2 Hydrolysis 195 11 Lignocellulose Biorefinery 201 11.1 Ethanol 202 11.2 n-Butanol 212 11.3 Advanced Biofuel Alcohols 213 11.4 Lactic Acid 215 11.5 Succinic Acid 217 11.6 Xylitol 222 11.7 1,3-Propanediol 222 11.8 Polyhydroxyalkanoate 223 11.9 Other Products 223 11.10 Refinement by Chemical Processes 225 Acknowledgments 229 References 231 Index 285