Structural Analysis of Arabinoxylans Isolated from Ball-Milled Switchgrass Biomass
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Carbohydrate Research 345 (2010) 2183–2193 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Carbohydrate Research journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/carres Structural analysis of arabinoxylans isolated from ball-milled switchgrass biomass Koushik Mazumder, William S. York * Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, University of Georgia, 315 Riverbend Road, Athens, GA 30602, USA article info abstract Article history: Ball-milled alcohol-insoluble residue (AIR) was prepared from switchgrass (Panicum virgatum var Alamo) Received 16 June 2010 and sequentially extracted with 50 mM ammonium oxalate buffer, 50 mM sodium carbonate, 1 M KOH Received in revised form 20 July 2010 containing 1% NaBH4, and 4 M KOH containing 1% NaBH4. Arabinoxylan was the most abundant Accepted 22 July 2010 component of the 1 M KOH-extracted fraction, which was treated with endoxylanase to generate Available online 30 July 2010 oligosaccharides. Gel-permeation chromatography of these oligosaccharides produced three size- homogeneous oligosaccharide fractions with molecular weights of 678, 810, and 1074 Da, corresponding Keywords: to 5, 6, and 8 pentose units, respectively. Detailed structural analysis of these oligosaccharides was per- Switchgrass formed using methylation analysis, multiple-step mass spectrometry (ESIMSn), and 1D and 2D NMR spec- Enzymatic digestion Arabinoxylan oligosaccharides troscopy. The preferred gas-phase fragmentation pathways were identified for these oligosaccharides, Per-O-methylation providing extensive sequence information that was completely consistent with structures determined n Multiple-step mass spectrometry by ab initio NMR analysis. These results demonstrate the high information content of ESIMS analysis Structural analysis when applied to cell-wall-derived oligosaccharides and provide standard data that will facilitate the anal- ysis of cell-wall polysaccharide fragments with a sensitivity that is sufficient for the analysis of samples obtained from dissected tissues as well as other small samples. Ó 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd. 1. Introduction along the xylan backbone) have been correlated to altered cell wall properties.3 This paper describes development and application of The bioconversion of lignocellulosic biomass to liquid fuels is a analytical methods for the detailed structural analysis of arabin- key emerging technology for addressing the need for environmen- oxylans from grasses, specifically the arabinoxylan of switchgrass, tally friendly and sustainable energy sources. Lignocellulosic bio- which has enormous potential as a biofuel crop. mass is a complex composite of many different polysaccharides, Structural characterization of polysaccharides such as arabinoxy- proteins, and phenolic polymers derived primarily from the cell lan involves identification of their constituent monosaccharide walls of grasses and woody plants. Although cellulose, pectin, and units, the monosaccharide sequence, the linkage position for each hemicellulose are well established as the three main classes of poly- glycosidic bond and the presence and location of each branch point. saccharides in the cell wall, the exact composition of the cell wall Owing to this inherent complexity, carbohydrate characterization varies considerably both within and between plant species. Consid- has required the use of diverse analytical methods, among which erable attention is currently being focused on switchgrass (Panicum NMR spectroscopy has played a major role. Recently, highly sensi- virgatum) as a potential source of lignocellulosic biomass in amounts tive, high-throughput methods for the analysis of glycan structure sufficient to support industrial-scale production of biofuels. have been developed using combinations of mass spectrometry, Arabinoxylans, which are major components of the cell walls of HPLC, and digestion with specific exo- and endo-glycosidases.4,5 P. virgatum and other grasses, have a backbone consisting of We now report the characterization of oligosaccharide fragments (1?4)-linked b-D-Xylp residues, some of which bear various side generated by the enzymatic digestion of aribinoxylans solubilized 1,2 chains (including a-L-Araf, a-L-Araf-(1?2)-a-L-Araf, and b-D- by alkali extraction of cell walls prepared from switchgrass biomass. Xylp-(1?2)-a-L-Araf) at O-2 and/or O-3. Arabinoxylans play a The composition and molecular masses of the purified oligosaccha- key role in maintaining the structural integrity of the cell walls rides were determined by GC–MS and MALDI-TOFMS, and detailed of these species. Understanding the detailed structure of arabin- structural information was obtained by glycosyl composition analy- oxylans in grasses is important in that differences in the molecular sis, glycosyl linkage analysis, multiple-stage electrospray-ionization features of these hemicellulosic polysaccharides (e.g., degree of mass spectrometry (ESIMSn) , and NMR spectroscopy. branching and spatial arrangement of arabinosyl substituents * Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 706 542 4401; fax: +1 706 542 4412. ESIMSn = multiple-stage electrospray-ionization mass spectrometry, where E-mail address: [email protected] (W.S. York). n = the number of times the isolation–fragmentation cycle has been carried out. 0008-6215/$ - see front matter Ó 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd. doi:10.1016/j.carres.2010.07.034 2184 K. Mazumder, W. S. York / Carbohydrate Research 345 (2010) 2183–2193 2. Results and discussion Table 1 Methylation analysis data (molar ratios) of fractions 2, 3 and 4 2.1. Isolation of the arabinoxylan oligosaccharides Derivative Structurea Fraction 4 Fraction 3 Fraction 2 2,3,5-Me3 Ara T-Ara 0.8 0.8 1.2 Cell walls were prepared as an alcohol-insoluble residue (AIR) ob- 2,3,4-Me3 Xyl T-Xyl 0.8 1.2 1.0 tained by organic-solvent extraction of ball-milled switchgrass bio- 3,5-Me2 Ara 2-Ara - 0.9 - mass. AIR was extracted with 1 M KOH to solubilize arabinoxylan, 2,3-Me2 Xyl 4-Xyl 1.8 2.2 5.4 2-Me Xyl 3,4-Xyl 1.0 1.0 1.1 which was treated with endoxylanase to generate a mixture of xylo-oligosaccharides.6,7 The oligosaccharides were fractionated by a Residue structure and substituent sites within the oligosaccharide. (T indicates size-exclusion chromatography on Bio-Gel P-2 (fine) to yield a void terminal residue.) fraction and four partially included fractions (Fig. 1). are diagnostic for fragmentation events.17 Each free hydroxyl 2.2. Sugar composition analysis of the arabinoxylan group that is generated during gas-phase fragmentation of the oligosacccharides methylated oligosaccharide can be identified by its characteristic 14-Da mass difference relative to a methylated site. Such unme- The monosaccharide compositions of the switchgrass oligosac- thylated ‘scars’ facilitate the interpretation of the resulting MSn charide fractions were analyzed by high-performance anion-ex- data, providing key information required for the identification change chromatography8 (HPAEC) and gas chromatography–mass and location of branch points in the glycosyl sequence. The most spectrometry9,10 (GC–MS) of monosaccharides or monosaccharide abundant fragment ions in the ESIMSn spectra of the purified, derivatives, respectively, released by acid-catalyzed depolymeriza- per-O-methylated oligosaccharides were identified as Y and B frag- tion. The resulting arabinose/xylose ratios were 6.7, 2.1, and 3.9 for ment ions.17 Due to their high abundance, Y ions were most often fractions 2, 3, and 4, respectively. Fraction 5 contained only xylose. selected for secondary fragmentation in order to maximize ion counts for higher order MSn. 2.3. Methylation analysis of arabinoxylan oligosaccharides The ESIMS2 spectrum of per-O-methylated fraction 4 (Fig. 2A), recorded upon fragmentation of the quasimolecular ion at m/z Glycosidic linkage sites for each residue in the oligosaccharides 869, includes an abundant Y ion (m/z 695) generated by loss of a were determined by GC–MS analysis of partially methylated alditol single pentosyl residue from the precursor ion. Methylation analy- acetate (PMAA) derivatives obtained by per-O-methylation, hydro- sis (see above) indicated the presence of a single branched residue, lysis, reduction, and acetylation of each fraction.10–12 The results a nonreducing terminal xylosyl residue and a nonreducing termi- for fractions 2 and 4 (Table 1) are consistent with a backbone con- nal arabinosyl residue (see above). Therefore, two isomeric m/z sisting of (1?4)-linked xylopyranosyl residues and a single arabi- 695 ions can exist, one formed by loss of a terminal xylosyl residue nofuranosyl side chain linked to O-3 of an internal xylosyl residue. and the other formed by loss of a terminal arabinosyl residue. The For fraction 3 (Table 1), the results are also consistent with a ESIMS3 spectrum recorded upon fragmentation of the m/z 695 ion (1?4)-linked xylopyranosyl backbone, but with an Araf-(1?2)- is shown in Figure 2B. In this figure, each scar generated by the ini- Araf side chain. tial fragmentation giving rise to the precursor ion is indicated by an unrooted arrow, and the scar generated by subsequent frag- 2.4. Mass spectrometric analysis of the per-O-methylated mentation of the precursor ion is indicated by an arrow crossed oligosaccharides by a mass-labeled, dashed line. Fragmentation of the two isomeric precursor ion structures (m/z 695) generates two isomeric Y ions MALDI-TOF spectra of fractions 2, 3, and 4 (Supplementary (with three pentosyl residues with two scars) at m/z 521 and two Figs. S3, S2 and S1) included highly abundant quasi-molecular ions