Characterization and efficient production of a thermostable, halostable and organic solvent-stable cellulase from an oil reservoir
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Updated: Aug 15, 2026

A High Throughput Screen for Biomining Cellulase Activity from Metagenomic Libraries
Published on: February 1, 2011
Tong Zhu1, Ruifeng Li1, Jinyuan Sun2
1CAS Key Laboratory of Microbial Physiological and Metabolic Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, PR China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, PR China.
Abstract:
The manufacture of biofuels from cellulose is regarded as one of practicable strategies to meet increasing energy demand and alleviate environmental issues. Cellulases, which play an important role in the production of second-generation biofuels, are expected to be highly thermostable, halostable and organic solvent-stable to adapt to the harsh conditions in practical application. Here we cloned and characterized a novel cellulase (MaCel) from Mahella australiensis 50-1 BON, an anaerobic thermophile isolated from an oil reservoir. MaCel exhibited excellent thermostability, halostability as well as organic solvent stability, and could be efficiently produced in a yield of 1.7 × 106 U/L in 15 h with inexpensive culture medium. These results indicate that MaCel may be a suitable candidate for industrial applications, illustrating the potential benefits of enzymes from oil reservoir extremophiles in the manufacture of biofuels.
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