Cellulase hyperproduction Trichoderma reesei mutant strain BB8 for the bioextraction and bioconversion of ginsenoside...

Ginsenoside is an important bioactive substance from Panax notoginseng. However, the extraction efficiency of ginsenoside is very low. Here, we constructed a Trichoderma reesei mutant strain BB8 from T. reesei RUT-C30 by overexpression of bgl1 gene to achieve a notable high-level production of cellulosic enzymes. Compared with RUTC30, BB8 displayed the enhanced β-glucosidase activity as well as other cellulosic enzymes. After treating the P. notoginseng powder with the crude enzymes from BB8, the cell wall structure of P. notoginseng was significantly destroyed and more inner contents were released from the plant cell. More importantly, the major saponins were converted to the minor ginsenosides, compound K (CK) and the active ginsenoside Rd, increasing the beneficial effect of the saponins. The findings from this work advance strain improvement to produce cost-effective cellulosic enzymes and represent a potential alternative for the extraction and conversion of the ginsenoside from P. notoginseng without using harmful reagents.