Carbohydrate depolymerization by intricate cellulosomal systems

Cellulosomes are multi-enzymatic nanomachines that have been fine-tuned through evolution to efficiently deconstruct plant biomass. Integration of cellulosomal components occurs via highly ordered protein–protein interactions between the various enzyme-borne dockerin modules and the multiple copies of the cohesin modules located on the scaffoldin subunit. Recently, designer cellulosome technology has been established to provide insights into the architectural role of catalytic (enzymatic) and structural (scaffoldin) cellulosomal constituents for the efficient degradation of plant cell wall polysaccharides. Owing to advances in genomics and proteomics, highly structured cellulosome complexes have recently been unraveled, and the information gained has inspired the development of designer cellulosome technology to new levels of complex organization. These higher-order designer cellulosomes have in turn fostered our capacity to enhance the catalytic potential of artificial cellulolytic complexes. In this chapter, methods to produce and employ such intricate cellulosomal complexes are reported.