ERA-NET: Mining the microbiomes from marine wood-digesting bivalves for novel lignocellulose depolymerizing enzymes

Informations

Funding country

Norway

Acronym

-

URL

-

Start date

1/1/2018

End date

12/31/2021

Budget

746,447 EUR

Fundings

Abstract

Shipworms are a unique family of marine bivalves capable of depolymerizing lignocellulose originating from trees/wood that is occasionally washed/blown ashore. This project has used the European shipworms as a model system for a holistic study of lignocellulose degradation and mined their metagenomes (sequenced total-DNA) for genes encoding novel lignocellulose depolymerizing enzymes. Lignocellulose is a greatly undervalorized biomass and methodologies to convert it to high-value products needs fortification. This plant-derived raw material is the most abundant biomass in Europe and it can be harvested from waste streams found in forest and agricultural industries. Shipworms are voracious animals with respect to their appetite for wood. These marine bivalves are causing severe damage to all wood found in the sea worldwide. Their digestive system is especially intriguing. Wood engulfed by mechanical rasping is digested by enzymes secreted by the shipworm itself and by a community of symbiotic bacteria located in the gill tissue. The shipworm gill symbionts are specialists in lignocellulose degradation and perform this task by applying a perfected enzyme cocktail in a defined and physiochemically stable environment. Thus, by unravelling the contributions of the individual enzymes in the shipworm cocktail, we have the opportunity to take a leap forward in understanding the fundamental properties of enzymatic lignocellulose degradation. The project is a collaboration between Norway (UiT, Tromsø and NMBU, Ås), Germany (GAUG, Göttingen and L3 scientific solutions, Geesthacht), Romania (UB, Bucharest) and the Azorene (UAc, Ponta Delgada). Six different species of wood-boring bivalves have been collected from European waters. All partners have found shipworms in their seas, ranging from the Black Sea in the east, to the Azores in the south and the Barents Sea in the North. In addition to the vast metagenomic sequencing effort, we have also isolated the total protein content from the shipworm gut and hepatopancreas and performed a metaproteomic analysis. Together, this has given information on which enzymes (originating from both the shipworm and symbiotic bacteria) are present and how abundant they are. Interesting enzymes have been recombinantly produced, purified and characterized. The enzymes have many application areas in different industries. The project has also provided much needed information regarding the European marine woodborers, their biogeography, anatomy, phylogeny and damage potential.