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Journal of Biotechnology & Biomaterials | ISSN: 2155-952X | Volume: 8
3rd World Biotechnology Congress
December 03-04, 2018 Sao Paulo, Brazil
Production of a universal plant-based substrate system for cellulase activity assays
C ellulases and other cell wall degrading enzymes are currently being engineered with improved traits for application in the
breakdown of lignocellulosic biomass. The majority of assays with these ‘designer’ enzymes have been carried out using
synthetic substrates such as crystalline bacterial micro cellulose (BMCC). The use of synthetic substrates may not reflect the
actual action of these cellulases on real plants. In the following study, suspension cell walls from several plant species were
examined as possible alternatives for synthetic cellulose substrates. The results suggest that isolated plant cell walls can be used
to reproducibly assay for cellulase activity.
Biography
Kathleen Hefferon has completed her PhD from the University of Toronto and postdoctoral studies from the Department of Food Sciences, Cornell University.
She is the Fulbright Canada Research Chair of Global Food Security. She is currently on Faculty at Cornell University and is writing a second edition to her book
“Biopharmaceuticals in Plants”. She has published in multiple research journals and has edited 6 books. She just completed as editor of an Encyclopedia on Food
Security and Sustainability. .
Kathleen Hefferon
University of Toronto, Canada
Kathleen Hefferon, J Biotechnol Biomater 2018, Volume: 8
DOI: 10.4172/2155-952X-C7-105