Valerie J. Rodrigues1, Matthias Wietz2, Jessica Adams1
1Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS), Aberystwyth University, Gogerddan, Aberystwyth SY23 3EB, UK
2Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI)
Bremerhaven, Germany
Uncontrolled macroalgal blooms known as green or golden tides are increasingly occurring around the world, due to eutrophication of the marine ecosystem. These blooms result in the generation of large quantities of biomass that are currently underutilised. The predominant cause of green tides is the genus Ulva which contains ulvan, a sulphated polysaccharide with unique monomers such as rhamnose, glucuronic acid, iduronic acid and xylose. Oligomers and monomers of ulvan have several applications in the biomedical, biofuel, cosmetic and fine chemical industry. These applications often necessitate the breakdown of the polysaccharide to oligosaccharides or monomers and can be achieved through enzymatic saccharification. Owing to the complexity of ulvan, the synergistic action of several enzymes such as ulvan lyases, unsaturated glucuronyl hydrolases, rhamnosidases, xylosidases and sulfatases are essential for its complete saccharification. Koch et al (2019), reported the presence of a plasmid with several ulvan metabolising CAZYmes in Alteromonas sp. 76-1 isolated from the Patagonian continental shelf. This plasmid has genes for the complete set of enzymes required to breakdown ulvan to monomers. In this study, we investigate the functionality and potential of the ulvan metabolising genes that are present on this plasmid towards ulvan saccharification. This work can contribute to the development of sustainable enzymatic technologies for the utilisation of green seaweed biomass generated due to algal blooms.
Reference: Koch H.et al (2019) Frontiers Microbiol.10:504