Exploring the potential synergistic cooperation between cellulase enzymes and lignin biocatalysts screened from a proprietary environmental DNA platform for deconstructing lignocellulosic biomass

MetaMixis, Inc., is a Canadain company undertaking a global effort dedicated to decreasing our reliance on petrochemicals by transitioning to engineered microbial processes or biocatalysts for the production of sustainable products. In the past few years MetaMixis has successfully developed a functional screen to recover metagenomic scaffolds sourced from various proprietary bacterial communities. They have used this technique to identify and, eventually, isolate novel lignin degrading biocatalysts (LDB) (lignin plays a key role in limiting the effective deconstruction of biomass to fermentable sugars). However, the potential application of these LDB need to be further assessed. Our FPB/Bioenergy group in UBC has been involved in over two decades of research, in collaboration with the world’s biggest enzyme company Novozymes, to develop and customize the “enzyme cocktails” for efficient deconstruction of various industrial-relevant lignocellulosic substrates. Thus, FPB could help MetaMixis to explore the potential of these LDB in the biomass bioconversion process.

Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Jack (John) Saddler

Student:

Jinguang Hu

Partner:

MetaMixis Inc.

Discipline:

Forestry

Sector:

Life sciences

University:

University of British Columbia