Polypeptides Having Endoglucanase Activity And Polynucleotides Encoding Same

Abstract

The present invention relates to isolated polypeptides having endoglucanase activity and isolated polynucleotides encoding the polypeptides. The invention also relates to nucleic acid constructs, vectors, and host cells comprising the polynucleotides as well as methods of producing and using the polypeptides.

1 . An isolated polypeptide having endoglucanase activity, selected from the group consisting of:
 (a) a polypeptide having at least 65% sequence identity to the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 4;   (b) a polypeptide encoded by a polynucleotide that hybridizes under at least high stringency conditions with (i) the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3, (ii) the cDNA thereof, or (iii) the full-length complement of (i) or (ii);   (c) a polypeptide encoded by a polynucleotide having at least 80% sequence identity to the mature polypeptide coding sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3 or the cDNA sequence thereof;   (d) a variant of the mature polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 4 comprising a substitution, deletion, and/or insertion at one or more (e.g., several) positions; and   (e) a fragment of the polypeptide of (a), (b), (c), or (d) that has endoglucanase activity.   
     
     
         2 . An isolated polynucleotide encoding the polypeptide of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         3 . A recombinant host cell comprising the polynucleotide of  claim 2  operably linked to one or more control sequences that direct the production of the polypeptide. 
     
     
         4 . A method of producing the polypeptide of  claim 1 , comprising:
 (a) cultivating a cell, which in its wild-type form produces the polypeptide, under conditions conducive for production of the polypeptide; and   (b) recovering the polypeptide.   
     
     
         5 . A method of producing a polypeptide having endoglucanase activity, comprising:
 (a) cultivating the host cell of  claim 3  under conditions conducive for production of the polypeptide; and   (b) recovering the polypeptide.   
     
     
         6 . A transgenic plant, plant part or plant cell transformed with a polynucleotide encoding the polypeptide of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         7 . A method of producing a polypeptide having endoglucanase activity, comprising:
 (a) cultivating the transgenic plant or plant cell of  claim 6  under conditions conducive for production of the polypeptide; and   (b) recovering the polypeptide.   
     
     
         8 . A method of producing a mutant of a parent cell, comprising inactivating a polynucleotide encoding the polypeptide of  claim 1 , which results in the mutant producing less of the polypeptide than the parent cell. 
     
     
         9 . A double-stranded inhibitory RNA (dsRNA) molecule comprising a subsequence of the polynucleotide of  claim 2 , wherein optionally the dsRNA is an siRNA or an miRNA molecule. 
     
     
         10 . A method of inhibiting the expression of a polypeptide having endoglucanase activity in a cell, comprising administering to the cell or expressing in the cell the double-stranded inhibitory RNA (dsRNA) molecule of  claim 9 . 
     
     
         11 . An isolated polynucleotide encoding a signal peptide comprising or consisting of amino acids 1 to 18 of SEQ ID NO: 4. 
     
     
         12 . A recombinant host cell comprising a gene encoding a protein operably linked to the polynucleotide of  claim 11 , wherein the gene is foreign to the polynucleotide encoding the signal peptide. 
     
     
         13 . A process of producing a protein, comprising:
 (a) cultivating a recombinant host cell comprising a gene encoding a protein operably linked to the polynucleotide of  claim 11 , wherein the gene is foreign to the polynucleotide encoding the signal peptide, under conditions conducive for production of the protein; and   (b) recovering the protein.   
     
     
         14 . A whole broth formulation or cell culture composition comprising the polypeptide of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         15 . A process for degrading or converting a cellulosic material, comprising: treating the cellulosic material with an enzyme composition in the presence of the polypeptide having endoglucanase activity of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         16 . The process of  claim 15 , further comprising recovering the degraded cellulosic material. 
     
     
         17 . A process for producing a fermentation product, comprising:
 (a) saccharifying a cellulosic material with an enzyme composition in the presence of the polypeptide having endoglucanase activity of  claim 1 ;   (b) fermenting the saccharified cellulosic material with one or more fermenting microorganisms to produce the fermentation product; and   (c) recovering the fermentation product from the fermentation.   
     
     
         18 . A process of fermenting a cellulosic material, comprising: fermenting the cellulosic material with one or more fermenting microorganisms, wherein the cellulosic material is saccharified with an enzyme composition in the presence of a polypeptide having endoglucanase activity of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         19 . The process of  claim 18 , wherein the fermenting of the cellulosic material produces a fermentation product. 
     
     
         20 . The process of  claim 19 , further comprising recovering the fermentation product from the fermentation.