Biorefining of novel cellulosics from forest fibre resources

林产品工业是加拿大国内生产总值（GDP）的主要贡献者。由于具有挑战性的全球出口经济以及消费者对新闻纸和其他由木浆纤维制成的纸制品的需求不断变化，这一贡献在过去十年中有所下降。为了阻止市场份额的进一步流失并刺激未来的增长，纸浆和造纸部门需要技术创新，通过更有效的加工和新型生物材料的生产，使我国森林纤维资源的价值最大化。人们普遍认为，新型纤维生物复合材料、智能/反应纤维和纳米材料的开发和商业化是森林生物经济转型的核心。该战略研究项目的愿景是将通过发现和表征新型纤维素氧化酶获得的基本见解转化为木材纤维改性新技术的开发。最先进的基因组学和生物化学方法将用于解锁辅助活性家族10的裂解多糖单加氧酶的催化多样性，其原型成员已被证明可以通过引入活性羧酸基团选择性地修饰结晶纤维素链。这一活动提供了一个目前尚未开发的手柄，可以将新的化学物质直接引入木浆纤维的表面。利用这一机会，将引入新的功能，提高性能，并扩大传统的北方漂白针叶木硫酸盐纸浆和新兴生物纤维衍生物（如微纤化纤维素）的应用空间。通过对高素质人员进行多学科培训，包括与一家领先的加拿大林产品公司进行密切互动，该项目将产生低投入、环境可持续的生物技术应用，为加拿大庞大的森林资源增加价值。

The forest products industry is a key contributor to Canada's gross domestic product (GDP). This contribution has been in decline for the past decade owing to a challenging global export economy and changing consumer needs for newsprint and other paper products made from wood pulp fibre. To stem further loss in market-share and spur growth into the future, the pulp and paper sector is in need of technical innovation to maximize the value of our national forest fibre resource though more efficient processing and the production of novel biomaterials. The development and commercialization of new fibre biocomposites, smart/responsive fibres, and nanomaterials are widely envisioned as central to the transformation of the forest bioeconomy.The vision of this Strategic Research Project is to translate fundamental insight gained through the discovery and characterization of novel cellulose-oxidizing enzymes into the development of new technology for wood fibre modification. State-of-the-art genomic and biochemical methods will be used to unlock the catalytic diversity of the Lytic Polysaccharide Mono-Oxygenase enzymes of Auxiliary Activity Family 10, archetypal members of which have been shown to selectively modify crystalline cellulose chains through the introduction of a reactive carboxylate group. This activity provides a currently unexploited handle to introduce new chemistry specifically and directly onto the surface of wood pulp fibres. This opportunity will be harnessed to introduce new functionality, improve performance, and broaden the application space of both traditional Northern Bleached Softwood Kraft Pulp and emerging biofibre derivatives such as microfibrillated cellulose. Through multi-disciplinary training of highly qualified personnel, including intimate interaction with a leading Canadian forest products company, this project will generate low-input, environmentally sustainable biotechnology applications to add value to Canada's vast forest resource.