Impact of Microbial Cellulases on Microbial Cellulose Biotechnology
Abstract Cellulose is the most abundant polymer on earth, found in nature most exclusively in plants but also produced from microorganisms in the form of microbial cellulose. Microbial cellulose is the advanced biomaterial produced from microorganisms particularly by bacteria. Microbial cellulase is the complex enzyme system that acts on cellulose and plays an important role for its utilization. A small concentration of cellulase enzyme does not impede the growth of bacterial cellulose producing bacteria but dissolves cellulose around the cells and hence enhance the production. The significance of microbial cellulase for microbial cellulose synthesis and utilization is discussed in the present study. The reactivity of cellulase toward bacterial cellulose and its impact on production and applications like bioabsorbable bacterial cellulose and biomass for biofuel production is explored. We conclude with a need of a future direction to progress the use of microbial cellulase for microbial cellulose from a biotechnological perspective.