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Projects: Projects for Investigator
Reference Number	BB/L001926/1
Title	Learning from marine wood borers; enzymes and mechanisms of lignocellulose digestion
Status	Completed
Energy Categories	Not Energy Related 50%; Renewable Energy Sources(Bio-Energy, Production of transport biofuels (incl. Production from wastes)) 50%;
Research Types	Basic and strategic applied research 100%
Science and Technology Fields	BIOLOGICAL AND AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES (Biological Sciences) 50%; PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Chemistry) 50%;
UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation	Not Cross-cutting 100%
Principal Investigator	Prof S (Simon ) McQueen-Mason No email address given Biology University of York
Award Type	Research Grant
Funding Source	BBSRC
Start Date	01 April 2014
End Date	31 March 2019
Duration	60 months
Total Grant Value	£2,820
Industrial Sectors	Transport Systems and Vehicles
Region	Yorkshire & Humberside
Programme	Longer and Larger Grants (LoLas)
Investigators	Principal Investigator	Prof S (Simon ) McQueen-Mason , Biology, University of York (99.994%)
	Other Investigator	Prof G (Gideon ) Davies , Chemistry, University of York (0.001%) Prof P (Paul ) Walton , Chemistry, University of York (0.001%) Prof N (Neil ) Bruce , Biology, University of York (0.001%) Prof P (Paul ) Dupree , Biochemistry, University of Cambridge (0.001%) Dr S (Simon ) Cragg , Sch of Biological Sciences, University of Portsmouth (0.001%) Dr J (John ) McGeehan , Institute of Biomedical and Biomolecular Science (IBBS), University of Portsmouth (0.001%)
Web Site
Objectives	This programme fits well with the BBSRCs strategic priorities in Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy. The provision of a source of sugars that can form the platform for fermentative production of biofuels and platform chemicals without having negative consequences for food security is a major challenge of our times. The work in this project is explicitly aimed at identifying new enzymes and processes for the saccharification of non-food lignocellulosic biomass. The work described in this proposal will most immediately benefit the private commercial sector by identifying and developing new enzymes for use in industrial biotechnological applications. The primary beneficiaries will be those in the enzyme industry, however, if this work significantly improves lignocellulose saccharification, its impacts will trickle down to many areas of the developing knowledge-based bio-economy by providing cost-competitive lignocellulosic sugars for multiple applications. In addition, cellulases and related carbohydrate active enzymes are used very widely in other industrial sectors including, pulp and paper, textiles, laundry detergents and the food industry, and our work may have impacts in any or all of these. Our work will benefit other researchers working in the areas of enzymes, polysaccharides, biofuels and industrial biotechnology and enzymes structure and function, by providing novel data on new examples of lignocellulose active enzymes from animals and particularly from the marine environment, a largely underexplored area. Our work could have long-term benefits for the environment and society at large by helping to decrease our reliance on fossil resources and help provide lower carbon routes for the production of fuels and industrial chemical with minimal impacts on food security. This work therefore has potentially important impact from the political perspective, potentially helpingthe UK to reach its targets for reduced carbon emissions. We have assembled an extremely strong group of scientists to maximise the chances of the full promise of the scientific research being realised. In addition, we are committed to seeing that the impacts of the work are maximised. This will in part be achieved by working closely with our industrial partner to ensure that enzymes have a route for rapid industrial uptake. In addition, the team has a good records in terms of public outreach and communication. For example SMM has appeared in two recent Research Council videos and is a member of the BBSRC Bioenergy Outreach Group. The research on marine wood borers provides an excellent means of catching public interest as witnessed by numerous popular press articles that have been published on the BSBEC Marine Wood Borer Programme. The project management will use proven processes to protect IP and publish results in scientific journals and at conferences. We will also use existing UK networks (eg the Bioscience KTN, the NNFCC) to communicate progress through their events and web-based or printed media. When appropriate, discoveries will be disseminated by the University to the general media through press releases. To ensure professional management of intellectual property, CNAP operates regular IP reviews of all projects. CNAP has an outstanding track record in commercialisation of strategic research through on-going collaborations with companies throughout the biorenewable supply chain. The programme will provide researchers and PhD students with wide-ranging skills relevant to the establishment of a vibrant industrial biotechnology and bioenergy research and innovation-led industrial sector in the UK. We will encourage the researchers and students to attend networking meetings organised by BSBEC and other relevant networks that may be established through the new BBSRC new initiatives in industrial biotechnology and bioenergy.
Abstract	Our previous work has studied a marine wood boring crustacean (Limnoria quadripunctata) that has a digestive system that is free of microbial life This work has shown that L. quadripunctata has a two compartment digestive system, where enzymes for digestion are produced in the hepatopancreas, while wood digestion occurs in the hindgut, which is protected by the food mass being encased in a non-living lining. The hindgut environment has high levels of reactive oxygen species and is an oxygen sink, suggesting that oxidative chemistry is being used to attack the lignocellulose, and this may also be responsible for the lack of microbes. We have been characterising enzymes from the digestive system and studied a new animal GH7 cellulase in considerable detail. This enzyme shows remarkable robustness with higher activity in 3M NaCl than at lower concentrations. The enzyme has an unusually high density of acidic residues at its surface, and this feature is seen in other enzymes from this system and may be associated with robustness necessary in the inhospitable gut conditions. We will build on our previous work and the resources established during it. We will extend our studies to two other crustacean wood borers, L. lignorum and Chelura terebrans, which we find to have microbe free digestive systems. We will also include a shipworm, a wood boring mollusc, that appears to use very different approach to wood digestion but has been little studied. We will use transcriptomic, proteomic, biochemical, microscopic and spectroscopic studies of the digestive systems in these organisms to provide understanding of the processes and identify interesting enzymes for deeper study. We will produce recombinant version of lignocellulose active enzymes that will be studied in structural and biochemical detail. We will work with our industrial partner to investigate the commercial potential of these enzymes, and test them at scale using pilot scale biorefinery facilities.
Publications	(none)
Final Report	(none)
Added to Database	15/12/14