Effects of wood char and activated carbon on the hydrolysis of cellobiose by β-glucosidase from Aspergillus niger
Abstract
Biochar amendments to soils have been suggested as a strategy to sequester carbon and therefore mitigate global climate change. The enrichment of soils with charred materials also increases their fertility. This fertilising effect of biochar may be caused by various mechanisms; an acceleration of nutrient cycling has been suggested as one such mechanism. The rate-limiting step in nutrient cycling is thought to be the extracellular enzymatic attack on biological macromolecules. In this study, therefore, the effects of chestnut wood char (specific surface area 2.0 m² g⁻¹) and of activated carbon (specific surface area approximately 900 m² g⁻¹) on an extracellular enzymatic reaction involved in the degradation of cellulose (i.e., hydrolysis of cellobiose by β-glucosidase from Aspergillus niger) were investigated. Cellobiose was not adsorbed by chestnut wood char, whereas activated carbon absorbed more than 97% of it. Both charred materials adsorbed more than 99% of β-glucosidase. For chestnut wood char, adsorption of the enzyme caused a decrease of approximately 30% in the reaction rate, whereas for activated carbon, the nearly complete absorption of both substrate and enzyme entirely inhibited the reaction. These results show that β-glucosidase from A. niger retains most of its activity when adsorbed to chestnut wood char and that the reaction it catalyses in nature is only slightly affected by this charred material. On the other hand, a material characterised by a high specific surface area and high porosity, such as activated carbon, can make even a highly soluble substrate unavailable for soil enzymes and therefore completely inhibit the reaction. Thus, charred materials may affect nutrient cycling mainly by regulating the availability of substrates: the degradation of highly soluble substrates may be accelerated by materials with low specific surface area, which maintain an active and protected enzyme pool, whereas materials with high specific surface and high porosity may slow down the degradation by making substrates unavailable.
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In biochar-amended soil, β-glucosidase reaction rates were reduced due to adsorption of substrate and enzyme.
“Reduced reaction rates for βglucosidase were observed in biochar amended soil, due to the adsorption of substrate and enzyme (Lammirato et al., 2011).”
From Comparing straw, compost, and biochar regarding their suitability as agricultural soil amendments to affect soil structure, nutrient leaching, microbial communities, and the fate of pesticides (2021) · cites this paper as Lammirato et al., 2011
Unlike activated carbon, enzymes could maintain most of their activity after sorption onto biochar, and substrate availability was the determining factor.
“In contrast to activated carbon with its much higher surface area, the enzymes could maintain most of their activity after sorption onto biochar and substrate availability was found to be the determining factor.”
From Comparing straw, compost, and biochar regarding their suitability as agricultural soil amendments to affect soil structure, nutrient leaching, microbial communities, and the fate of pesticides (2021) · cites this paper as Lammirato et al., 2011
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- Authors
- Lammirato, C., Miltner, A., & Kaestner, M.
- Affiliations
- Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Lammirato, Carlo
- ORCID
- Miltner, Anja
- Venue
- Soil Biology and Biochemistry
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2011-09
- Volume
- 43
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 1936-1942
- ISSN
- 0038-0717 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2015480933
- Cited by
- 178
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 16 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 8.39
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Soil Biology and Biochemistry (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Enzyme Catalysis and Immobilization
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Biotechnology › Enzyme Production and Characterization
- Keywords
- biochar, activated carbon, β-glucosidase, Aspergillus niger, cellobiose hydrolysis, enzyme adsorption, substrate adsorption, nutrient cycling, soil enzyme activity, substrate availability, carbon sequestration, cellulose degradation
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