COLD-ACTIVE MICROBIAL CELLULASE: NOVEL APPROACH TO UNDERSTAND MECHANISM AND ITS APPLICATIONS IN FOOD AND BEVERAGES INDUSTRY

Abstract

Cellulose, a carbohydrate mainly found in plant cell walls, is most abundant biopolymer on the Earth. Biodegradation of cellulose is carried out by a group of enzymes knows as cellulases. These enzymes play important roles in food processing and used in food industry. In the present era, cold-active enzymes are preferred instead of meso- and thermos-philic counterparts due to less energy requirement for their optimal activity and easy inactivation. The present study includes evaluation of cold-active cellulase from Pseudoalteromonas haloplanktis for its industrial applications in comparison to mesophilic and thermophilic cellulases, through molecular docking method. The binding energy of cold-active cellulase with the substrate cellulose was -126.60 KCals/mole. However, the energy for thermo- and mesophilic cellulase found to be -93.29 and -75.54 KCals/mole, respectively. The results concluded that cold-active cellulase has more efficacy compared to its counterparts and may be used in food processing industry at commercial level.