Efficacious bioconversion of alginate/cellulose to value-added oligosaccharides by alginate-degrading GH5 endoglucanase from Trichoderma asperellum

Enzymatic degradation of lignocellulosic biomass provides an eco-friendly approach to produce value-added macromolecules, e.g., bioactive polysaccharides. A novel acidophilic GH5 β-1,4-endoglucanase (termed TaCel5) from Trichoderma asperellum ND-1 was efficiently expressed in Komagataella phaffii (∼1.5-fold increase, 38.42 U/mL). TaCel5 displayed both endoglucanase (486.3 U/mg) and alginate lyase (359.5 U/mg) enzyme activities. It had optimal pH 3.0 and strong pH stability (exceed 86 % activity retained over pH range 3.0–5.0). 80 % activity (both endoglucanase and alginate lyase) was retained in the presence of 15 % ethanol or 3.42 M NaCl. Analysis of action mode revealed that hydrolytic activity of TaCel5 required at least three glucose (cellotriose) residues, yielding mainly cellobiose. Glu241 and Glu352 are essential catalytic residues, while Asp106, Asp277 and Asp317 play auxiliary roles in cellulose degradation. TaCel5 displayed high hydrolysis efficiency for glucan and alginate substrates. ESI-MS analysis indicated that the enzymatic hydrolysates of alginate mainly contained disaccharides and heptasaccharides. This is the first detailed report of a bifunctional GH5 endoglucanase/alginate lyase enzyme from T. asperellum. Thus TaCel5 has strong potential in food and feed industries as a catalyst for bioconversion of cellulose- and alginate-containing waste materials into value-added products oligosaccharides, which was of great benefit both for the economy and environment. •A alginate-degrading endoglucanase (TaCel5) from T. asperellum was firstly studied.•It hydrolyzed glucan and cello-oligosaccharide to yield cellobiose.•No endoglucanase or alginate lyase activity was detected for mutants E241A and E352A.•Enzymatic degradation of alginate mainly yielded disaccharides and heptasaccharides.•TaCel5 has great potential to produce biopolysaccharides from agricultural waste.