Improving enzymatic digestibility of wheat straw pretreated by a cellulase-free xylanase-secreting Pseudomonas boreopolis G22 with simultaneous production of bioflocculants

Abstract Background Xylan removal by bacterial pretreatments has been confirmed to increase the digestibility of biomass. Here, an effective xylan removal technique has been developed to enhance the digestibility of wheat straw and simultaneously produce bioflocculants by a cellulase-free xylanase-secreting strain, Pseudomonas boreopolis G22. Results The results indicated that P. boreopolis G22 is an alkaliphilic strain which can secrete abundant amounts of xylanase. This xylanase had activity levels of 2.67–1.75 U mL−1 after an incubation period of 5–25 days. The xylanase showed peak activity levels at pH 8.6, and retained more than 85% relative activity in the pH range of 7.2–9.8. After 15 days of cultivation, the hemicellulose contents of the wheat straw were significantly decreased by 32.5%, while its cellulose contents were increased by 27.3%, compared to that of the control. The maximum reducing sugars released from the 15-day-pretreated wheat straw were 1.8-fold higher than that of the untreated wheat straw, under optimal enzymatic hydrolysis conditions. In addition, a maximum bioflocculant yield of 2.08 g L−1 was extracted from the fermentation broth after 15 days of incubation. The aforementioned bioflocculants could be used to efficiently decolorize a dye solution. Conclusions The results indicate that the cellulase-free xylanase-secreting P. boreopolis G22 may be a potential strain for wheat straw pretreatments. The strain G22 does not only enhance the enzymatic digestibility of wheat straw, but also simultaneously produces a number of bioflocculants that can be used for various industrial applications