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Wheat straw hydrolysis by using co-cultures of Trichoderma reesei and Monascus purpureus toward enhanced biodegradation of the lignocellulosic biomass in bioethanol biorefinery

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Abstract

Wheat straw (Triticum aestivum) is one of the lignocellulosic materials largely available worldwide and could be potentially used for biofuel production. Aiming the cost-effective utilization of wheat straw in the sugar-based biorefineries, co-cultures of Trichoderma reesei and Monascus purpureus were used for the enzymatic hydrolysis of the wheat straw biomass. The enzymatic breakdown of the dual-fungi-treated wheat straw was chemically analyzed through different enzyme/compositional assays, and the structural modifications were studied through scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). For hydrolytic enzyme assays, the co-culture treatments resulted in significantly higher values (carboxymethyl cellulase (212.3 U/ml; p = 0.0173*), total cellulase (202 U/ml; p < 0.0001****), and xylanase (96.7 U/ml; p < 0.0001****) when compared with the readings of pure cultures. This hydrolytic activity resulted in the enhanced breakdown of wheat straw exhibiting a significant loss of 45.2% in lignin, 19.18% in cellulase, and 21.84% in hemicellulose contents. Furthermore, SEM and FTIR analysis of the co-culture treatments verified the improved biodegradation of wheat straw. Accumulatively, these results suggest a better approach for the effective use of dual-fungi for the lignocellulosic biomass breakdown and may have applications in bioethanol biorefineries using wheat straw as a sugar feedstock.

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Funding

This study was supported by the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Government of Pakistan, and PAK−US project: 4−Romana/AK−US/HEC/2011 “Solid waste management for Bioenergy production.”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fermentation Technology Group, Technical Services Division, National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (NIBGE), PO Box 577, Faisalabad, Pakistan

    Shabih Fatma, Aimen Saleem & Romana Tabassum

  2. Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS), PO Nilore, Islamabad, Pakistan

    Shabih Fatma & Aimen Saleem

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  1. Shabih Fatma
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  2. Aimen Saleem
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  3. Romana Tabassum
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Correspondence to Shabih Fatma or Romana Tabassum.

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Highlights

• Biodegradation of wheat straw was evaluated using mono- and co-culture of T. reesei and M. purpureus under solid-state fermentation.

• Hydrolytic enzyme activity of mono- and co-culture treatments was analyzed and compared.

• Compositional analysis and structural modifications of biodegraded wheat straw were observed to compare the structural loss/gain of lignocellulosic constituents.

• A significant enhancement of biodegradation of wheat straw with fungal co-cultures suggested the synergism among the fungi for the cooperative work.

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Fatma, S., Saleem, A. & Tabassum, R. Wheat straw hydrolysis by using co-cultures of Trichoderma reesei and Monascus purpureus toward enhanced biodegradation of the lignocellulosic biomass in bioethanol biorefinery. Biomass Conv. Bioref. 11, 743–754 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-020-00652-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-020-00652-x

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