2020/04/17 by Christian Keggi, Joy Doran-Peterson, Joy Doran‐Peterson · 2 citations
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Engineering · #Biofuel production and bioconversion #Enzyme Production and Characterization #Polysaccharides and Plant Cell Walls
paper · doi:10.1128/aem.02275-19
openalex publication_date 2020/04/17 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Pectin is an important structural polysaccharide found in most plant cell walls. In the environment, pectin degradation is part of the decomposition process that turns over dead plant material and is important to organisms that feed on plants. Industrially, pectinases are used to improve the quality of fruit juices and can also be used to process coffee cherries or tea leaves. These enzymes may also prove useful in reducing the environmental impact of paper and cotton manufacturing. This work is significant because it focuses on a Gram-positive bacterium that is evolutionarily distinct from other well-studied pectin-degrading organisms and differs from known systems in key ways. Most importantly, a simplified extracellular deconstruction process in this organism is able to break down pectins without first removing the methyl groups that inhibit other systems. Moreover, some of the enzymes described here have the potential to improve industrial processes that rely on pectin deconstruction.