ORIGINAL RESEARCH
New Discovery of a Promising Cellulose-Degrading
Bacterium and Its Degradation Mechanism
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1
College of Resources and Environment, Northeast Agricultural University, No.600 Changjiang Road, Xiangfang
District, Harbin 150030, China
2
College of New Energy and Environment, Jilin University, No.2699 Qianjin Street, Chaoyang District, Changchun
130021, PR China
3
School of Chemical Engineering, Northeast Electric Power University, No.169 Changchun Road, Chuanying District,
Jilin 132012, China
4
Key Laboratory of Pollution Ecology and Environmental Engineering, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy
of Sciences, No.72 Wenhua Road, Shenhe District, Shenyang 110016, China
5
College of Life Science and Technology, Mudanjiang Normal University, No.191, Wenhua Street, Aimin District,
Mudanjiang, 157011, China
Submission date: 2025-03-11
Final revision date: 2025-05-03
Acceptance date: 2025-05-17
Online publication date: 2025-07-12
Corresponding author
Zhihua Liu
College of Resources and Environment, Northeast Agricultural University, No.600 Changjiang Road, Xiangfang
District, Harbin 150030, China
Yingjie Dai
College of Resources and Environment, Northeast Agricultural University, No.600 Changjiang Road, Xiangfang
District, Harbin 150030, China
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ABSTRACT
To mitigate the challenges associated with straw returning to the field, this study utilized straw
returning soil as the bacterial source and identified four cellulose-degrading strains through enrichment
culture and Congo red staining. They were identified by molecular biology as Penicillium vinaceum,
Hypocrea sp., Phanerochaetc chrysosporium, and Alternaria. By assessing the activities of filter paper
enzyme, carboxymethyl cellulase, and microcrystalline cellulase, the results showed that Penicillium
vinaceum exhibited the most effective straw degradation, with enzyme activities of filter paper enzyme,
carboxymethyl cellulase, and microcrystalline cellulase enzyme activities were 102.13 IU/mg, 153.45
IU/mg, and 144.22 IU/mg, respectively, significantly surpassing the other three strains. The optimal
growth conditions for this strain were 25℃, pH 3.0, and a substrate concentration of 3 g/L. Mechanistic
analysis revealed that the high efficiency of Penicillium vinaceum in cellulose degradation was attributed
to an enzyme synergy system: the bacterial strain synergistically completes the decomposition of straw
through the dissolution of cellobiohydrolase I and Lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases, as well as the
separation of cellobiohydrolase II and endoglucanase. This study provides a superior candidate strain
for the development of degradation agents to address the obstacles of straw returning to the field.