The potential of cellulase enzymes in the developing and ongoing “biorefinery” industry has provided a
great motivation to develop an efficient cellulase mixture. Recent work has shown how important the
role that the so-called accessory enzymes can play in an effective enzymatic hydrolysis. In this study,
three newest Novozymes Cellic CTec cellulase preparations (CTec 1/2/3) were compared to hydrolyze
steam pretreated lignocellulosic substrates and model substances at an identical FPA loading. These cellulase
preparations were found to display significantly different hydrolytic performances irrelevant with
the FPA. And this difference was even observed on the filter paper itself when the FPA based assay was
revisited. The analysis of specific enzyme activity in cellulase preparations demonstrated that different
accessory enzymes were mainly responsible for the discrepancy of enzymatic hydrolysis between diversified
substrates and various cellulases. Such the active role of accessory enzymes present in cellulase
preparations was finally verified by supplementation with -glucosidase, xylanase and lytic polysaccharide
monooxygenases AA9. This paper provides new insights into the role of accessory enzymes, which
can further provide a useful reference for the rational customization of cellulase cocktails in order to
realize an efficient conversion of natural lignocellulosic substrates.
© 2015