Enhancement of an Efficient Enzyme Cocktail from Penicillium Consortium on Biodegradation of Pretreated Poplar

Lignocellulosic biomass is the most abundant feedstock in production of bio-based fuels and materials. In order to achieve high conversion efficiency, enzyme cocktail has been assessed by numerous studies as a powerful tool to allocate diverse specific activities in one matrix. This study reported an efficient cellulase cocktail produced by co-cultivation of several Penicillium strains with lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) producing strains. The optimal inoculum proportion was screened with hydrolysis yield as the indicator and through ANOVA analysis. When blending the consortium-derived enzyme cocktail with commercial cellulase preparation, the highest hydrolysis yield reached 88.7%, equivalent to 32% increase compared to using commercial cellulase alone. The behind structure-function relationship between the substrate and enzymatic degradation was illustrated. Comparative analysis of enzyme components, activities and the strains transcriptome provided a comprehensive evaluation and insights of the proposed Penicillium consortium, indicating it as a potent cellulase cocktail producer for enhancing lignocellulose biodegradation.