Recent advances in substrate-enzyme interactions facilitating efficient biodegradation of lignocellulosic biomass: A review

Abstract

Lignocellulosic biorefinery has long been recognized as a potential strategy for sustainable production of biofuels, materials and chemicals. These productions in many cases rely on pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic carbohydrates, whereas the low degradation efficiency and high enzyme dosage are challenging bottlenecks of economically industrial production. The complex recalcitrant nature of lignocellulose requires a well-matched enzyme cocktail to achieve complete and efficient degradation. Numerous studies have investigated the relationship between biomass components, structural properties and enzymes synergistic action in the past decades. This article aims to present a comprehensive review on this subject by introducing recent advances in substrate modification techniques, underlying mechanisms of enzyme synergism and governing factors in structure-activity interaction. In addition, newly developed modellings and multi-omic analysis techniques for preparing commercial enzyme preparations are introduced, revealing possible avenues for achieving economic viability of lignocellulose bioconversion.