Comparative genomic and secretomic characterisation of endophytic Bacillus velezensis LC1 producing bioethanol from bamboo lignocellulose

Bacillus is an excellent organic matter degrader, and it has exhibited various abilities required for lignocellulose degradation. Several B. velezensis strains encode lignocellulosases, however their ability to efficiently transform biomass has not been appreciated. In the present study, through the comparative genomic analysis of the whole genome sequences of 21 B. velezensis strains, CAZyome related to lignocellulose degradation was identified and their similarities and differences were compared. Subsequently, the secretome of B. velezensis LC1 by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) were identified and confirmed that a considerable number of proteins were involved in lignocellulose degradation. Moreover, after 6-day treatment, the degradation efficiency of the B. velezensis LC1 toward cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin were 59.90%, 75.44% and 23.41%, respectively, the hydrolysate was subjected to ethanol fermentation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Escherichia coli KO11, yielded 10.44 g/L ethanol after 96 h. These results indicate that B. velezensis LC1 has the ability to effectively degrade bamboo lignocellulose and has the potential to be used in bioethanol production.