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Appl Environ Microbiol, June 1998, p. 2273-2274, Vol. 64, No. 6
0099-2240/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Effects of Manganese Peroxidase on Residual Lignin of Softwood Kraft Pulp

Ian D. Reid* and Michael G. Paice

Pulp and Paper Research Institute of Canada, Pointe-Claire, Quebec, Canada H9R 3J9

Received 6 January 1998/Accepted 23 March 1998

    ABSTRACT
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Manganese peroxidase treatment lowered the kappa number of kraft pulp and increased the alkali extractability of the residual lignin but did not directly solubilize it. This indicates that MnP partially oxidizes the lignin in the pulp but does not degrade it to soluble fragments.

    TEXT
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Manganese peroxidase (MnP) has been implicated as an important enzyme in delignification of kraft pulps by white rot fungi (6, 8, 12, 15). Treating kraft pulps with MnP can lower their kappa numbers and increase their bleachability (10, 13, 14). In the presence of the surfactant Tween 80, the enzyme can increase the brightness of hardwood kraft pulp (9). This enzyme also releases methanol from methoxyl groups on rings with free phenolic hydroxyls (15). The bleaching effect is thought to be caused by residual lignin oxidation by chelated Mn3+, generated by enzymatic oxidation of Mn2+, but the reacting sites within the lignin and the products of delignification have not yet been identified. To better understand pulp bleaching by MnP, we have investigated its action on softwood kraft pulp (SWKP) containing 14C-labelled residual lignin. Delignification of this pulp by the white rot fungus Trametes versicolor has been described previously (16). The fungus extensively depolymerized and solubilized the residual lignin in the pulp and mineralized 22% of it to CO2.

We show here that the decrease in kappa number caused by MnP treatment is not associated with removal of lignin carbon from the pulp.

Pulps. SWKP labelled with 14C in its residual lignin (SWKP*2) was prepared by laboratory pulping of lignin-labelled white spruce as previously described (16). The labelled pulp was washed with 0.1 M NaOH and rinsed with water just before use to remove radioactive materials that had leached from the pulp during storage. Unlabelled pulp was prepared from white spruce in the Paprican pilot plant.

Enzymes. Glucose oxidase (Gox) was purchased from Sigma. The activity of the Gox was assayed at pH 4.5, with peroxidase to detect the production of H2O2 from oxidation of glucose (1). MnP was produced from Trametes versicolor 52J as previously described (13) and assayed by spectrophotometric detection of Mn(III) malonate formation (15). Crude cellulase was purchased from Iogen Corp., Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Pulp treatments. SWKP (0.5 g) was suspended in 50 ml of 5 mM malonate buffer, pH 4.5, containing 50 U of MnP, 0.2 mM MnSO4, and 10 mM glucose, in a 125-ml Erlenmeyer flask. In experiments using labelled pulp, 1 × 105 dpm of SWKP*2 was added to each flask. Gox (1.76 U) was added to start the reaction, and the flasks were incubated on a gyrotory shaker at 250 rpm for 24 h at 30°C. Control flasks lacking either MnP or Gox were incubated in parallel with the treatment flasks. After incubation, the flask contents were fractionated into soluble, alkali-extractable, and cellulase lignin fractions as previously described (16). Alkali extraction was carried out at 10% consistency and 60°C for 60 min with 1.6% NaOH. Cellulase lignin was the fraction soluble in 0.1 M NaOH at 37°C after digestion of the pulp polysaccharides with crude cellulase.

Analytical methods. Kappa numbers were determined by the micro-kappa method (3). Klason lignin was measured by the method of Effland (4), with estimation of acid-soluble lignin from the A205 of the hydrolysis filtrates (11).

Effect of MnP treatment on distribution of 14C from lignin-labelled pulp. Gox was used in these experiments to supply H2O2 continuously at low concentration; MnP is inactivated by H2O2 at millimolar concentrations (5). Treatment of the labelled pulp with the complete system of MnP plus Gox did not release significant amounts of 14CO2, nor did it solubilize the labelled lignin; the level of soluble radioactivity after the treatment of the pulp with both MnP and Gox was low, intermediate between those of the two controls lacking one of the enzymes (Table 1). Treatment of the pulp with Gox alone (no MnP control) consistently decreased the amount of soluble radioactivity; the basis for this effect was not determined. The enzyme treatment did increase the amount of radioactivity extracted by alkali from ca. 15% to ca. 25% of the total and decreased the amount of label in the cellulase lignin fraction.

                              
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TABLE 1.   Treatment of 14C-lignin-labelled SWKP with MnP increases the alkali extractability of the label but not its solubility

Effect of MnP treatment on Klason lignin content of pulp. Treatment with MnP plus Gox lowered the kappa number of the pulp by about 20%, but it did not change the Klason lignin content (Table 2). There were no significant differences among the controls lacking one or both of the enzymes. When the pulps were extracted with alkali, the kappa numbers of the treated and control pulps all decreased by about six units, but the pulp treated with the complete enzyme mixture lost significantly more Klason lignin (1.5% on pulp) than the control pulps did (0.5% on pulp).

                              
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TABLE 2.   Kappa numbers and Klason lignin contents of enzyme-treated pulps before and after alkaline extraction

Thus, the Klason lignin content of the pulp reacted to enzyme treatment like the 14C-labelled lignin: it was not directly solubilized, but its alkali extractability was increased. The agreement between these two measures of lignin content shows that lignin was not removed from the pulp by MnP treatment. However, the capacity of the lignin to reduce permanganate (i.e., kappa number) was lowered, probably because the lignin was partially oxidized by the enzyme. The ratio of kappa number to Klason lignin decreased from 7 in the control pulp to 5.5 in the enzyme-treated pulp. MnP treatment of kraft pulps releases methanol from methoxyl groups on lignin rings bearing free phenolic hydroxyls (15); the likely coproducts are o-quinones. MnP-treated pulps have enhanced susceptibility to peroxide bleaching, which may also result from the presence of o-quinones (13). Alternatively, the enhanced bleachability may be due to formation of alpha -carbonyls, which are easily degraded by alkaline peroxide (7). MnP is known to oxidize lignin model compounds predominantly to alpha -carbonyl products (17, 18).

The partial oxidation of the lignin apparently did not cause conversion to fragments small or hydrophilic enough to diffuse out of the fiber walls. However, the enzyme treatment did increase the proportion of the lignin that could be extracted by alkali. It seemed that the lignin extracted by alkali included the partially oxidized lignin, because the ratio of kappa number to Klason lignin in the extracted pulp was 6.5, similar to the ratios in the extracted control pulps. The enhanced extractability of lignin after oxidation with MnP parallels the effect of lignin oxidation by chlorine or chlorine dioxide in conventional bleaching (2). The ability of alkali to solubilize the oxidized lignins is attributed to ionization of acidic groups and to decreased association of the lignin molecules; there are also alkali-promoted chemical reactions that cleave oxidized fragments and liberate ionizable groups in the lignin (2).

The inability of MnP to solubilize the residual lignin from kraft pulp differs from the ability of intact cultures of Trametes versicolor to extensively solubilize this lignin (16). MnP probably functions at an early stage in the degradation of lignin by this fungus, leading to demethoxylation (15) and increased alkali extractability (16). Other enzymes then probably continue the degradation to release soluble lignin fragments. Alternatively, the fungal mycelium might enhance the ability of MnP to degrade lignin by secreting thiols (18) or other redox mediators (12) or by trapping fragments produced transiently.

    ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank Michelle Ricard for technical assistance and Sylvie Renaud for providing MnP and for advice on treating pulp with it.

    FOOTNOTES

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Paprican, 570 boul. St.-Jean, Pointe-Claire, Quebec, Canada H9R 3J9. Phone: (514) 630-4101 ext. 2244. Fax: (514) 630-4134. E-mail: reid{at}paprican.ca.

    REFERENCES
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1. Bergmeyer, J., and M. Grassl. 1988. In Methods of enzymatic analysis, 3rd ed., vol. 1. , p. 457-458. Verlag Chemie, Weinheim, Germany.
2. Berry, R. 1996. (Oxidative) alkaline extraction, p. 291-320. In C. W. Dence, and D. W. Reeve (ed.), Pulp bleaching---principles and practice. TAPPI Press, Atlanta, Ga.
3. Berzins, V. 1966. Micro kappa numbers. Pulp Paper Canada 67:T206-T208.
4. Effland, M. J. 1977. Modified procedure to determine acid insoluble lignin in wood and pulp. Tappi J. 60(10):143-144.
5. Harazono, K., R. Kondo, and K. Sakai. 1997. Bleaching of kraft pulp with manganese peroxidase secreted from Ganoderma sp. YK-505: improvement of bleaching system by using the tolerant enzyme, p. G4-1-4. In Proceedings of the 9th International Symposium on Wood and Pulping Chemistry, Montreal. Canadian Pulp and Paper Association, Montreal.
6. Hirai, H., R. Kondo, and K. Sakai. 1994. Screening of lignin-degrading fungi and their ligninolytic enzyme activities during biological bleaching of kraft pulp. Mokuzai Gakkaishi 40:980-986.
7. Hosoya, S., and J. Nakano. 1980. Reaction of alpha -carbonyl group in lignin during alkaline hydrogen peroxide bleaching. Mokuzai Gakkaishi 26(2):97-101.
8. Katagiri, N., Y. Tsutsumi, and T. Nishida. 1995. Correlation of brightening with cumulative enzyme activity related to lignin biodegradation during biobleaching of kraft pulp by white rot fungi in the solid-state fermentation system. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 61:617-622[Abstract].
9. Kondo, R., K. Harazono, and K. Sakai. 1994. Bleaching of hardwood kraft pulp with manganese peroxidase secreted from Phanerochaete sordida YK-624. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 60:4359-4363[Abstract/Free Full Text].
10. Kondo, R., K. Harazono, K. Tsuchikawa, and K. Sakai. 1996. Biological bleaching of kraft pulp with lignin-degrading enzymes, p. 228-240. In T. W. Jeffries, and L. Viikari (ed.), Enzymes for pulp and paper processing. American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C.
11. Musha, Y., and D. A. I. Goring. 1974. Klason and acid-soluble lignin content of hardwoods. Wood Sci. 7:133-134.
12. Paice, M. G., F. S. Archibald, R. Bourbonnais, L. Jurasek, I. D. Reid, T. Charles, and T. Dumonceaux. 1996. Enzymology of kraft pulp bleaching by Trametes versicolor, p. 151-164. In T. W. Jeffries, and L. Viikari (ed.), Enzymes for pulp and paper processing. American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C.
13. Paice, M. G., R. Bourbonnais, and I. D. Reid. 1995. Bleaching kraft pulps with oxidative enzymes and alkaline hydrogen peroxide. Tappi J. 78(9):161-169.
14. Paice, M. G., R. Bourbonnais, I. D. Reid, and F. S. Archibald. 1997. Kraft pulp bleaching by redox enzymes, p. PL1-1-4. In Proceedings of the 9th International Symposium on Wood and Pulping Chemistry, Montreal. Canadian Pulp and Paper Association, Montreal.
15. Paice, M. G., I. D. Reid, R. Bourbonnais, F. S. Archibald, and L. Jurasek. 1993. Manganese peroxidase, produced by Trametes versicolor during pulp bleaching, demethylates and delignifies kraft pulp. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 59:260-265[Abstract/Free Full Text].
16. Reid, I. D. 1998. Fate of residual lignin during delignification of kraft pulp by Trametes versicolor. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 64:2117-2125[Abstract/Free Full Text].
17. Tuor, U., H. Wariishi, H. E. Schoemaker, and M. H. Gold. 1992. Oxidation of phenolic arylglycerol beta -aryl ether lignin model compounds by manganese peroxidase from Phanerochaete chrysosporium: oxidative cleavage of an alpha -carbonyl model compound. Biochemistry 31:4986-4995[Medline].
18. Wariishi, H., K. Valli, V. Renganathan, and M. H. Gold. 1989. Thiol-mediated oxidation of nonphenolic lignin model compounds by manganese peroxidase of Phanerochaete chrysosporium. J. Biol. Chem. 264:14185-14191[Abstract/Free Full Text].


Appl Environ Microbiol, June 1998, p. 2273-2274, Vol. 64, No. 6
0099-2240/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.



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