Kathleen Hefferon
Cornell University, USA
Title: Production of a universal plant-based substrate system for cellulase activity assays
Biography
Biography: Kathleen Hefferon
Abstract
Cellulases and other cell wall degrading enzymes are currently being engineered with improved traits for application in the breakdown of lignocellulosic biomass. The majority of assays with these ‘designer’enzymes have been carried out using synthetic substrates such as crystalline bacterial micro cellulose (BMCC). The use of synthetic substrates may not reflect the actual action of these cellulases on real plants. In the following study, suspension cell walls from several plant species were examined as possible alternatives for synthetic cellulose substrates. The results suggest that isolated plant cell walls can be used to reproducibly assay for cellulase activity.