{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]],"date-time":"2026-08-14T12:38:27Z","timestamp":1786711107353,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]],"date-time":"2026-08-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786665600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"University Natural Science Research Key Projects in Anhui Province","award":["2024AH051688"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024AH051688"]}]},{"name":"Industry-University-Research Cooperation Project","award":["2024340603000299"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024340603000299"]}]},{"name":"Open Project of Anhui University Collaborative Innovation Center for Modern Biomanufacturing","award":["201509"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["201509"]}]},{"award":["201509"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["201509"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/05th6yx34","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Open Project of Anhui Province Watermelon and Melon Biological Breeding Engineering Research Center","award":["AHXTKF2023009"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["AHXTKF2023009"]}]},{"name":"Anhui Province University Innovation Team Project","award":["2023AH010045"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023AH010045"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Microorganisms"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Crop straw is an abundant lignocellulosic resource, but its efficient bioconversion is hindered by the recalcitrant structure of plant cell walls. This study integrated degradation phenotyping, enzyme activity assays, whole-genome analysis, and comparative transcriptomics to link the wheat-straw degradation performance of strain XH2 with its enzymatic and molecular responses. Strain XH2 was isolated from fully decomposed compost collected in Anhui Province, China, selected based on the formation of a distinct hydrolysis halo on CMC-Congo red agar, and deposited in the China Center for Type Culture Collection (CCTCC) under accession number CCTCC M 2025519. Morphological, cultural, phylogenetic, and genomic analyses identified strain XH2 as Streptomyces thermocarboxydus. Its degradation capacity was evaluated during 28 days of cultivation by measuring straw degradation, lignocellulosic components, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and extracellular enzyme activities. S. thermocarboxydus XH2 caused marked disruption of the wheat-straw surface and achieved a degradation rate of 31.45%. Cellulose and hemicellulose contents decreased from 41.10% to 28.87% and from 30.72% to 16.85%, respectively, whereas lignin decreased from 8.28% to 6.30%. Endoglucanase activity, filter paper activity (FPase, an indicator of total cellulase activity), and xylanase activity peaked on day 7, reaching 35.99, 17.68, and 37.01 U\/mL, respectively. Genome analysis revealed multiple genes encoding cellulases and hemicellulases. Comparative transcriptomic analysis after 72 h of cultivation in wheat-straw medium identified 1614 differentially expressed genes relative to Gause No. 1 medium, with major enrichment in ABC transporters and fructose and mannose metabolism. Most genes associated with polysaccharide degradation were upregulated. These findings link the degradation phenotype of S. thermocarboxydus XH2 to its enzymatic and molecular responses and support its further evaluation as a candidate for wheat-straw bioconversion under greenhouse and field conditions.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/microorganisms14081798","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]],"date-time":"2026-08-14T11:57:46Z","timestamp":1786708666000},"page":"1798","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Degradation of Wheat Straw by Streptomyces thermocarboxydus XH2: Insights from Genomic and Transcriptomic Analyses"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Tingyao","family":"Lv","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Pollutant Sensitive Materials and Environmental Remediation, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei 235000, China"},{"name":"School of Life Sciences, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei 235000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yushuo","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Pollutant Sensitive Materials and Environmental Remediation, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei 235000, China"},{"name":"School of Life Sciences, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei 235000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chao","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Pollutant Sensitive Materials and Environmental Remediation, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei 235000, China"},{"name":"School of Life Sciences, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei 235000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qiuyang","family":"Jiang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Pollutant Sensitive Materials and Environmental Remediation, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei 235000, China"},{"name":"School of Life Sciences, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei 235000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiaotong","family":"Zeng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Pollutant Sensitive Materials and Environmental Remediation, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei 235000, China"},{"name":"School of Life Sciences, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei 235000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Feng","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Pollutant Sensitive Materials and Environmental Remediation, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei 235000, China"},{"name":"School of Life Sciences, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei 235000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dayong","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Pollutant Sensitive Materials and Environmental Remediation, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei 235000, China"},{"name":"School of Life Sciences, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei 235000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"158","DOI":"10.1016\/j.biortech.2018.06.058","article-title":"Ensiling as pretreatment of rice straw: The effect of hemicellulase and Lactobacillus plantarum on hemicellulose degradation and cellulose conversion","volume":"266","author":"Zhao","year":"2018","journal-title":"Bioresour. 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