Identification of endoxylanase XynE from Clostridium thermocellum as the first xylanase of glycoside hydrolase family GH141

Enzymes that cleave polysaccharides in lignocellulose, i. e., cellulases, xylanases, and accessory enzymes, play crucial roles in the natural decomposition of plant-derived biomass and its efficient and sustainable processing into biofuels or other bulk chemicals. The analysis of open reading frame cthe_2195 from the thermophilic, cellulolytic anaerobe Clostridium thermocellum (also known as ‘Ruminiclostridium thermocellum’) suggested that it encoded a cellulosomal protein comprising a dockerin-I module, a carbohydrate-binding module, and a module of previously unknown function. The biochemical characterisation upon recombinant expression in Escherichia coli revealed that the protein is a thermostable endoxylanase, named Xyn141E with an optimal pH of 6.0–6.5 and a temperature optimum of 67–75 °C. The substrate spectrum of Xyn141E resembles that of GH10 xylanases, because of its side activities on carboxymethyl cellulose, barley β-glucan, and mannan. Conversely, the product spectrum of Xyn141E acting on arabinoxylan is similar to those of GH11, as established by HPAEC-PAD analysis. Xyn141E is weakly related (20.7% amino acid sequence identity) to the founding member of the recently established GH family 141 and is the first xylanase in this new family of biomass-degrading enzymes.