Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
203,203 studies31 sourcesUpdated 44 min ago
Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Frontiers in Microbiology

Unleashing the industrial potential of microbial plant cell wall polysaccharide-degrading enzymes: recent advances in protein engineering

  • Zihao Huang1,2
  • Liangtao Xu1
  • Jun Zhou2
  • Renjun Gao3
  • Huaibin Shi1
  1. 1China Tobacco Jiangsu Industrial Co., Ltd.
  2. 2State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, School of Chemistry, Nanjing University
  3. 3Key Laboratory for Molecular Enzymology and Engineering of Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, Jilin University
Read full textPDFDOICite

Abstract

Plant cell wall polysaccharide-degrading enzymes (PCWPEs) used in industry are predominantly of microbial origin. Key enzyme classes, including cellulases, lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs), β-xylanases, β-mannanases and pectinases, have attained technological maturity and are widely deployed across agro-waste biorefineries, food and feed processing, textile and pulp manufacturing. Low catalytic efficiency, insufficient thermostability, poor operational adaptability, restricted functionality, and product inhibition limit the industrial use of these enzymes. Structure- and sequence-guided design, supported by computational design tools, now allows more targeted improvement of PCWPE performance. Yet, the stringent and context-specific performance requirements imposed by diverse industrial applications continue to present substantial challenges. This review systematically summarizes current engineering strategies for PCWPEs in the past decade, aiming to provide a comprehensive understanding of the tailored strategies employed in different engineering directions and to offer insightful proposals for future research.

Related

  1. Safety assessment of microbial Polysaccharide Sanxan
    Yang Zhang, Haiqing Wu, Jiangyue Pi +4
    PLOS OnePeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full textCell biologyDevelopmental biologyPLOSPMC
  2. Advancing Cadmium Remediation via Rhizosphere Engineering: From Microbial Mechanisms to Field Deployment
    Teja Manda, Victor Edem Tsigbey, Kobina Kwansa Hammond +2
    Plants (Basel, Switzerland)Peer-reviewedCC BYFull textPlant biologyEurope PMC
  3. Genetic engineering of Eucalyptus spp.: current status and prospects for industrial forestry
    O. V. Bityukova, T. V. Matveeva, L. A. Lutova
    Биотехнология и селекция растенийPeer-reviewedCC BYFull textSystems & synthetic biologyDOAJ
  4. Fermentative valorization of edible algae: nutritional potential, food applications, safety considerations, and industrial challenges
    Donglin Ma, Chaokang Xia, Aiming Jia +8
    Frontiers in MicrobiologyPeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full textEcologyCrossref
  5. Phenotypic and Molecular Diversity of Salicornia bigelovii and Its Potential for Salinity-Resilient Industrial Oilseed Production.
    Jawaher AlYammahi, Houda Chelaifa, Bushra G Mohammed +1
    Plants (Basel, Switzerland)Peer-reviewedCC BYFull textPlant biologyEurope PMC

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{huang2026unleashing,
  title = {{Unleashing the industrial potential of microbial plant cell wall polysaccharide-degrading enzymes: recent advances in protein engineering}},
  author = {Zihao Huang and Liangtao Xu and Jun Zhou and Renjun Gao and Huaibin Shi},
  journal = {Frontiers in Microbiology},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.3389/fmicb.2026.1945309},
  url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2026.1945309/full},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Unleashing the industrial potential of microbial plant cell wall polysaccharide-degrading enzymes: recent advances in protein engineering
AU  - Zihao Huang
AU  - Liangtao Xu
AU  - Jun Zhou
AU  - Renjun Gao
AU  - Huaibin Shi
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/13
JO  - Frontiers in Microbiology
DO  - 10.3389/fmicb.2026.1945309
UR  - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2026.1945309/full
AB  - Plant cell wall polysaccharide-degrading enzymes (PCWPEs) used in industry are predominantly of microbial origin. Key enzyme classes, including cellulases, lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs), β-xylanases, β-mannanases and pectinases, have attained technological maturity and are widely deployed across agro-waste biorefineries, food and feed processing, textile and pulp manufacturing. Low catalytic efficiency, insufficient thermostability, poor operational adaptability, restricted functionality, and product inhibition limit the industrial use of these enzymes. Structure- and sequence-guided design, supported by computational design tools, now allows more targeted improvement of PCWPE performance. Yet, the stringent and context-specific performance requirements imposed by diverse industrial applications continue to present substantial challenges. This review systematically summarizes current engineering strategies for PCWPEs in the past decade, aiming to provide a comprehensive understanding of the tailored strategies employed in different engineering directions and to offer insightful proposals for future research.
SN  - 1664-302X
ER  -