Systems Biology of the Rumen Microbiome: Towards a Multi-Scalar Understanding of Biomass Degradation
EMSL Project ID
48642
Abstract
We have shown recently that the composition of the microbial community in the cow rumen is substrate driven, changes its composition during biomass-degradation and that it possesses a large repertoire of carbohydrate active enzymes (CAZymes) that differs from the CAZymes of other biomass-degrading ecosystems. Here we propose to generate metaproteome and metametabolome data to test if the protein profile of the rumen microbiome is substrate-driven and if the protein repertoire of biomass-degrading microbiomes differs from the protein repertoire of other ecosystemsHere we propose to utilize EMSL's proteomics and metabolomics capabilities to identify those microbial proteins that are actively involved in the degradation of the biofuel crops corn stover and switchgrass during rumen-incubation. To provide experimental support of the Omics data generated during this project, we will clone and express some of the genes that appear to be highly overrepresented in the biomass-associated rumen microbiomes and subsequent enzymatic assays will be performed to quantify the biomass-degrading activity of the heterologously expressed proteins.
We expect that this project will i) contribute significantly to an enhanced understanding of the genetic and molecular modules that are responsible for the biomass degrading community in the cow rumen and of the biological conversion of biomass in general and ii) facilitate the identification of novel biomass-degrading genes. Novel biomass-degrading genes identified during this project, will build the basis for future protein and metabolic engineering efforts to generate optimized enzymes and enzyme cocktails for the industrial conversion of cellulosic biomass into biofuels.
Project Details
Project type
Exploratory Research
Start Date
2014-11-11
End Date
2015-09-30
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Co-Investigator(s)
Team Members
Related Publications
Naas A, L Solden, AD Norbeck, HM Brewer, L Hagen, I Heggenes, AC Mchardy, RI Mackie, L Pasa Tolic, MØ Arntzen, VG Eijsink, N Koropatkin, M Hess, KC Wrighton, and P Pope. 2018. "Candidatus Paraporphyromonas polyenzymogenes” encodes multi-modular cellulases linked to the Type IX secretion system." Microbiome 6(1):Article No. 44. doi:10.1186/s40168-018-0421-8