Uses a Novel Set of LPXTA Carbohydrases to Hydrolyze Polysaccharides

N-4 (Bcell) making it an excellent target for genomic sequencing and mining of biomass-degrading enzymes.. Bcell also possesses four sortase D subfamily 4 enzymes that incorporate LPXTA-bearing proteins into the cell wall; three of these are closely related to each other and unique to Bcell. Cell fractionation and enzymatic assay of Bcell cultures show that the majority of polysaccharide degradation is associated with the cell wall LPXTA-enzymes, an unusual feature in Gram-positive aerobes. Genomic analysis and growth studies both strongly argue against Bcell being a truly cellulolytic organism, in spite of its name. Preliminary results suggest that fungal mycelia may be the natural substrate for this organism. N-4, in spite of its name, does not possess any of the genes necessary for crystalline cellulose degradation, demonstrating the risk of classifying microorganisms without the benefit of genomic analysis. Bcell is the first Gram-positive aerobic organism shown to use predominantly cell-bound, non-cellulosomal enzymes for polysaccharide degradation. The LPXTA-sortase system utilized by Bcell may have applications both in anchoring cellulases and other biomass-degrading enzymes to Bcell itself and in anchoring proteins other Gram-positive organisms