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Updated: Jul 23, 2025

A High Throughput Screen for Biomining Cellulase Activity from Metagenomic Libraries
Published on: February 1, 2011
Discovery of two bifunctional/multifunctional cellulases by functional metagenomics
Lingzhi Hu1, Shengxia Zhang1, Shumao Chai1
1College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, 1 Weigang, Nanjing 210095, China.
Abstract:
Cellulases are widely used in industry, and the usage in bioconversion of biofuels makes cellulases more valuable. In this study, two tandem genes that encoded cellulases ZF994-1 and ZF994-2, respectively, were identified on a cosmid from a soil metagenomic library. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that ZF994-1 and ZF994-2 belonged to glycoside hydrolase family 12 (GH12), and GH3, respectively. Based on the substrate specificity analysis, the recombinant ZF994-1 exhibited weak endoglucanase activity, moderate β-1,3-glucanase and β-1,4-mannanase activities, and strong β-glucosidase activity, while the recombinant ZF994-2 exhibited moderate endoglucanase activity and strong β-glucosidase activity. More than 45% β-glucosidase activity of the recombinant ZF994-1 retained in the buffer containing 3 M glucose, indicating the good tolerance against glucose. The recombinant ZF994-2 showed high activity in the presence of metal ions and organic reagents, exhibiting potential industrial applications.
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