Open AccessThe potential of bacteria isolated from ruminal contents of seaweed‐eating N orth R onaldsay sheep to hydrolyse seaweed components and produce methane by anaerobic digestion in vitro
Author(s) -
Williams Allan G.,
Withers Susan,
Sutherland Alastair D.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
microbial biotechnology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.287
H-Index - 74
ISSN - 1751-7915
DOI - 10.1111/1751-7915.12000
Subject(s) - laminarin , fucoidan , polysaccharide , rumen , biology , clostridium butyricum , food science , laminaria , hydrolysis , microbiology and biotechnology , bacteria , clostridium , algae , biochemistry , botany , fermentation , genetics
Summary The production of methane biofuel from seaweeds is limited by the hydrolysis of polysaccharides. The rumen microbiota of seaweed‐eating N orth R onaldsay sheep was studied for polysaccharidic bacterial isolates degrading brown‐seaweed polysaccharides. Only nine isolates out of 65 utilized > 90% of the polysaccharide they were isolated on. The nine isolates (eight P revotella spp. and one C lostridium butyricum ) utilized whole L aminaria hyperborea extract and a range of seaweed polysaccharides, including alginate (seven out of nine isolates), laminarin and carboxymethylcellulose (eight out of nine isolates); while two out of nine isolates additionally hydrolysed fucoidan to some extent. Crude enzyme extracts from three of the isolates studied further had diverse glycosidases and polysaccharidase activities; particularly against laminarin and alginate (two isolates were shown to have alginate lyase activity) and notably fucoidan and carageenan (one isolate). In serial culture rumen microbiota hydrolysed a range of seaweed polysaccharides (fucoidan to a notably lesser degree) and homogenates of L . hyperborea , mixed F ucus spp. and A scophyllum nodosum to produce methane and acetate. The rumen microbiota and isolates represent potential adjunct organisms or enzymes which may improve hydrolysis of seaweed components and thus improve the efficiency of seaweed anaerobic digestion for methane biofuel production.