Biobased
materials are promising alternatives to traditional fossil-derived
synthetic polymers to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and to provide
end-of-life benefits addressing increasing environmental concerns.
Biobased polymers with advantaged degradation and reuse characteristics
have attracted increasing attention. In this work, a dual-enzyme system
(combining endo α-1,3-glucanase Agl-ST from Streptomyces
thermodiastaticus HF 3–3 and exo α-1,3-glucanase
YgjK from Escherichia coli K12) was
identified for the targeted degradation of α-1,3-glucan. The
effects of pH, metal ions, enzyme concentration, temperature, and
reaction time were investigated to assess the degradation characteristics
of α-1,3-glucan using the synergistic enzyme system. After degradation
under model conditions for 10 h, the dual-enzyme system achieved a
weight loss rate of 29%, releasing 4.0 mM reducing sugar from 1% α-1,3-glucan.
Binding behavior and degradation kinetics of α-1,3-glucanase
on α-1,3-glucan were studied by a quartz crystal microbalance
with dissipation monitoring. This dual-α-1,3-glucanase enzyme
cocktail is a promising example for efficient biobased α-1,3-glucan
polymer degradation, thereby contributing toward the concept of a
circular economy.