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Biodegradation of Lignocellulose by White-Rot Fungi: Structural Characterization of Water-Soluble Hemicelluloses

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Abstract

In the biological pretreatment process, white-rot fungi are mostly used to degrade lignin and carbohydrates in lignocellulosic biomass. In this study, water-soluble hemicelluloses were recovered from birch wood (Betula alnoides) decayed by white-rot fungi (Ganoderma lucidum C7016) for different durations up to 16 weeks. Accordingly, the dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)-soluble hemicelluloses were isolated from the untreated birch wood as a comparison. Results showed that the fungal-degraded polysaccharides were acidic hemicelluloses having a high content of uronic acids ranging from 20.6 to 22.5 %. Gel permeation chromatography analysis demonstrated that the recovered water-soluble hemicelluloses had a lower average molecular weight (M w, 15,990–27,560 g mol−1) than that of the DMSO-soluble hemicelluloses (M w , 33,960 g mol−1). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, one- and two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy also revealed significantly changes between those of fungal degraded and DMSO-soluble hemicelluloses. It was proposed that the hemicelluloses with low molecular weights were easily removed from wood by fungal degradation. This research revealed the changes of hemicelluloses in fungal degradation in the natural environment, which may enable the exploration of novel methods in bioconversion of lignocellulosic biomass for the production of biofuels and biopolymers, in addition to the development of new and better ways to protect wood from biodegradation by microorganisms.

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Acknowledgment

The authors are grateful for the financial support from the Specific Programs in Graduate Science and Technology Innovation of Beijing Forestry University (number BLYJ201314), National Natural Science Foundation of China (30930073), Major State Basic Research Projects of China (973-2010CB732204), and State Forestry Administration (201204803).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijng Key Laboratory of Lignocellulosic Chemistry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China

    Ling-Ping Xiao, Zheng-Jun Shi, Yuan-Yuan Bai, Xue-Ming Zhang & Run-Cang Sun

  2. Institute of Microbiology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 10083, China

    Wei Wang

  3. State Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, China

    Run-Cang Sun

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  1. Ling-Ping Xiao
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  2. Zheng-Jun Shi
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  6. Run-Cang Sun
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Correspondence to Run-Cang Sun.

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Xiao, LP., Shi, ZJ., Bai, YY. et al. Biodegradation of Lignocellulose by White-Rot Fungi: Structural Characterization of Water-Soluble Hemicelluloses. Bioenerg. Res. 6, 1154–1164 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12155-013-9302-y

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