ABSTRACT
Lignocellulose is the structural material used to make plant cell walls, and is therefore the main component of plant biomass. Lignocellulose consists of three main components: cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Biomass in general consists of 40%–50% cellulose, 25%–30% hemicellulose, and 15%–20% lignin. Cellulose is the primary constituent of lignocellulosic biomass, which accounts for 30%–50% dry weight of lignocellulose, and is a polysaccharide composed of β-1,4-linked d-glucose units. Cellulose is used for the manufacture of paper and cardboard, and can be converted via the action of cellulase enzymes into glucose, for bioethanol production (Ahmad et al., 2010). The carbon cycle is closed primarily as a result of the action of cellulose-utilizing microorganisms present in soil and the guts of animals. Thus, microbial cellulose (MC) utilization is responsible for one of the largest material ows in the biosphere and is of interest in relation to the analysis of carbon ux at both local and global scales. The importance of MC utilization in natural environments is further enhanced by the status of ruminants as a major source of dietary protein. Finally, MC utilization is also an integral component of widely used processes such as anaerobic digestion and composting. MC, a polysaccharide synthesized in abundance by Acetobacter xylinum, has already been used quite successfully in wound-healing applications, proving that it could become a high-value product in the eld of biotechnology.
