Lignin & Cellulose

Discovery of Novel Enzyme Genes and Metabolic Pathway for Lignin Valorization

Microbial conversions known as “biological funneling” have attracted attention for their ability to upgrade heterogeneous mixtures of low-molecular-weight aromatic compounds obtained by chemical lignin depolymerization.

We identified and characterized two novel genes encoding an acetyl-CoA-dependent β-keto acid cleavage enzyme specific for the metabolites of arylglycerol-β-aryl ether [vanilloyl acetic acid/3-(4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-3-oxopropanoic acid] and a vanilloyl-CoA/syringoyl-CoA thioesterase from Sphingobium sp. strain SYK-6.

We designed a metabolic pathway to convert β-hydroxypropiovanillone to a platform chemical, 2-pyrone-4,6-dicarboxylate.

We proposed a novel lignin valorization strategy by combining a chemical process that produces β-hydroxypropiovanillone/β-hydroxypropiosyringone from lignin with microbial catabolic functions.

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