Hemicellulase production by Aspergillus niger DSM 26641 in hydrothermal palm oil empty fruit bunch hydrolysate and transcriptome analysis

Palm oil empty fruit bunches (EFB) is an abundant and cheap lignocellulose material in Southeast Asia. Its use as the sole medium for producing lignocellulose-hydrolyzing enzymes would increase its commercial value. A newly isolated Aspergillus niger DSM 26641 was investigated for its capability of producing hemicellulases in EFB hydrolysate obtained by treatment with pressurized hot water (1–20%, w/v) at 120–180°C in a 1 L Parr reactor for 10–60 min. The optimal hydrolysate for the fungal growth and endoxylanase production was obtained when 10% (w/v) of empty fruit bunch was treated at 120°C or 150°C for 10 min, giving an endoxylanase activity of 24.5 mU ml−1 on RBB-Xylan and a saccharification activity of 5 U ml−1 on xylan (DNS assay). When the hydrolysates were produced at higher temperatures, longer treatment times or higher biomass contents, only less than 20% of the above maximal endoxylanase activity was detected, possibly due to the higher carbohydrate concentrations in the medium. Transcriptome analysis showed that 3 endoxylanases (expression levels 59–100%, the highest level was set as 100%), 2 β-xylosidases (4%), 4 side chain-cleaving arabinofuranosidases (1–95%), 1 acetyl xylan esterase (9%) and 2 ferulic acid esterases (0.3–9%) were produced together.