Metabolic pathway analysis of the biodegradation of cellulose by Bacillus velezensis

A green strategy that using Bacillus velezensis to degrade cellulose in bamboo forest waste was demonstrated. The cultivation conditions of microorganism, identified as Bacillus velezensis by 16S rDNA, were optimized by response surface methodology (RSM). Results showed that with a temperature of 35 °C, a pH of 6 in a Luria-Bertani (LB) medium, and a rotation speed of 140 r/min, the bamboo forest waste powder was added to the purified bacteria at a dose of 1 % (w/v), the cellulose degradation rate reached the highest value of 33.12 %. Besides, the fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) indicated that cellulose could be effectively degraded, with possible products including cellobiose, uridine diphosphate (UDP)-glucose, D-glucuronic acid, etc. The metabolic pathways involved in cellulose degradation by this strain include the pentose phosphate, starch, sucrose, and glucuronic acid pathways.