Characterization of a cellulose-binding, cellulase-containing complex in Clostridium thermocellum

The isolation and biochemical characterization of the extracellular form of a cellulose-binding factor (CBF) from Clostridium thermocellum is described. The CBF was isolated from the culture supernatant by a two-step procedure which included affinity chromatography on cellulose and gel filtration on Sepharose 4B. The isolated CBF was homogeneous as determined by immunoelectrophoresis, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, gel filtration, and analytical ultracentrifugation analysis. The CBF was found to form a complex which exhibited a molecular weight estimated at 2.1 million. Electron microscopic analysis of negatively stained preparations of the isolated CBF revealed a particulate, multisubunit entity of complicated quaternary structure. The molecule appeared to be about 18 nm in size. Although urea failed to break the complex into its component parts, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate resolved the CBF complex into 14 polypeptide bands. Immunoprecipitation experiments confirmed that these polypeptides indeed formed part of the same complex. Interestingly, by using the whole-cell immunization procedure described in the accompanying article (Bayer et al., J. Bacteriol., 156:818-827, 1983) only one CBF subunit (Mr = 210,000) was found to be antigenically active. By using a gel-overlay assay technique, at least eight of the remaining CBF-associated polypeptide components were shown to exhibit cellulolytic activity. The results are consistent with the contention that the CBF comprises a discrete, multisubunit complex or group of closely related complexes which exhibit separate antigenic and multiple cellulase activities in addition to the property of cellulose binding. It appears that the CBF is not only responsible for the adherence of the cells to cellulose but also constitutes a major part of the cellulolytic apparatus of this organism.