The enzymatic susceptibility of cellulose microfibrils of the algal-bacterial type and the cotton-ramie type

Two types of substrates, the algal-bacterial type (rich in cellulose Iα) cellulose and the cotton-ramie type (dominant in cellulose Iβ) cellulose, were degraded comparatively by Trichoderma viride cellulase. The algal-bacterial type cellulose microfibril was more susceptible than the cotton-ramie type. The residual cellulose microfibrils were observed by TEM and analyzed by FTIR and electron diffraction. It becomes clear that the residual cellulose of the algal-bacterial type cellulose was getting rich in the cellulose Iβ with the lapse time of cellulase treatment. These results indicate that the cellulose Iα in the microfibril of the algal-bacterial type cellulose is hydrolyzed preferentially by the cellulase.