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Bleem AC, Kuatsjah E, Johnsen J, Mohamed ET, Alexander WG, Kellermyer ZA, Carroll AL, Rossi R, Schlander IB, Peabody V GL, Guss AM, Feist AM, Beckham GT. Evolution and engineering of pathways for aromatic O-demethylation in Pseudomonas putida KT2440. Metab Eng 2024; 84:145-157. [PMID: 38936762 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2024.06.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2024] [Revised: 06/17/2024] [Accepted: 06/24/2024] [Indexed: 06/29/2024]
Abstract
Biological conversion of lignin from biomass offers a promising strategy for sustainable production of fuels and chemicals. However, aromatic compounds derived from lignin commonly contain methoxy groups, and O-demethylation of these substrates is often a rate-limiting reaction that influences catabolic efficiency. Several enzyme families catalyze aromatic O-demethylation, but they are rarely compared in vivo to determine an optimal biocatalytic strategy. Here, two pathways for aromatic O-demethylation were compared in Pseudomonas putida KT2440. The native Rieske non-heme iron monooxygenase (VanAB) and, separately, a heterologous tetrahydrofolate-dependent demethylase (LigM) were constitutively expressed in P. putida, and the strains were optimized via adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) with vanillate as a model substrate. All evolved strains displayed improved growth phenotypes, with the evolved strains harboring the native VanAB pathway exhibiting growth rates ∼1.8x faster than those harboring the heterologous LigM pathway. Enzyme kinetics and transcriptomics studies investigated the contribution of selected mutations toward enhanced utilization of vanillate. The VanAB-overexpressing strains contained the most impactful mutations, including those in VanB, the reductase for vanillate O-demethylase, PP_3494, a global regulator of vanillate catabolism, and fghA, involved in formaldehyde detoxification. These three mutations were combined into a single strain, which exhibited approximately 5x faster vanillate consumption than the wild-type strain in the first 8 h of cultivation. Overall, this study illuminates the details of vanillate catabolism in the context of two distinct enzymatic mechanisms, yielding a platform strain for efficient O-demethylation of lignin-related aromatic compounds to value-added products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alissa C Bleem
- Renewable Resources and Enabling Sciences Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO, USA; Center for Bioenergy Innovation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
| | - Eugene Kuatsjah
- Renewable Resources and Enabling Sciences Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO, USA; Center for Bioenergy Innovation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
| | - Josefin Johnsen
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Elsayed T Mohamed
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - William G Alexander
- Center for Bioenergy Innovation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA; Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, One Bethel Valley Road, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
| | - Zoe A Kellermyer
- Renewable Resources and Enabling Sciences Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO, USA; Center for Bioenergy Innovation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
| | - Austin L Carroll
- Center for Bioenergy Innovation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA; Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, One Bethel Valley Road, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
| | - Riccardo Rossi
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark; Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Ian B Schlander
- Renewable Resources and Enabling Sciences Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO, USA
| | - George L Peabody V
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, One Bethel Valley Road, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
| | - Adam M Guss
- Center for Bioenergy Innovation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA; Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, One Bethel Valley Road, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
| | - Adam M Feist
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark; Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.
| | - Gregg T Beckham
- Renewable Resources and Enabling Sciences Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO, USA; Center for Bioenergy Innovation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA.
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Hu A, Li S, Zhang S, Wang H. Prepared Sulfonic-Acid-Based Ionic Liquid for Catalytic Conversion of Furfuryl Alcohol to Ethyl Levulinate. ACS OMEGA 2024; 9:14375-14380. [PMID: 38559984 PMCID: PMC10975587 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c10475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2023] [Revised: 02/03/2024] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
Efficient utilization of Brønsted acids has been advanced through the synthesis of a novel pyridinium propyl sulfonic acid ionic liquid catalyst, [PSna][HSO4]. Employing niacin and 1,3-propanesulfonic lactone, the synthesis aimed to achieve a catalyst that combines atom-efficiency with stability. Optimal catalytic activity was demonstrated at a temperature of 110 °C over a 2 h reaction time, resulting in a furfuryl alcohol conversion and ethyl levulinate yield of 97.79% and 96.10%, respectively. Notably, the extraction and recovery of [PSna][HSO4] exhibited commendable repeatability with up to five cycles, maintaining furfuryl alcohol conversion and ethyl levulinate yield at 93.74% and 88.17%, which highlights the catalyst's durability. Density flooding theory (DFT) calculations were employed to determine the most probable reaction pathways and identify all possible transition states and the reaction energy barriers overcome at each step of the reaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aiyun Hu
- Shazhou
Professional Institute of Technology, Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu 215600, China
- The
Key Laboratory of Food Colloids and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education,
School of Chemical and Material Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Shan Li
- Shazhou
Professional Institute of Technology, Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu 215600, China
| | - Sheng Zhang
- Shazhou
Professional Institute of Technology, Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu 215600, China
| | - Haijun Wang
- The
Key Laboratory of Food Colloids and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education,
School of Chemical and Material Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
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Wolf ME, Lalande AT, Newman BL, Bleem AC, Palumbo CT, Beckham GT, Eltis LD. The catabolism of lignin-derived p-methoxylated aromatic compounds by Rhodococcus jostii RHA1. Appl Environ Microbiol 2024; 90:e0215523. [PMID: 38380926 PMCID: PMC10952524 DOI: 10.1128/aem.02155-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 02/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Emergent strategies to valorize lignin, an abundant but underutilized aromatic biopolymer, include tandem processes that integrate chemical depolymerization and biological catalysis. To date, aromatic monomers from C-O bond cleavage of lignin have been converted to bioproducts, but the presence of recalcitrant C-C bonds in lignin limits the product yield. A promising chemocatalytic strategy that overcomes this limitation involves phenol methyl protection and autoxidation. Incorporating this into a tandem process requires microbial cell factories able to transform the p-methoxylated products in the resulting methylated lignin stream. In this study, we assessed the ability of Rhodococcus jostii RHA1 to catabolize the major aromatic products in a methylated lignin stream and elucidated the pathways responsible for this catabolism. RHA1 grew on a methylated pine lignin stream, catabolizing the major aromatic monomers: p-methoxybenzoate (p-MBA), veratrate, and veratraldehyde. Bioinformatic analyses suggested that a cytochrome P450, PbdA, and its cognate reductase, PbdB, are involved in p-MBA catabolism. Gene deletion studies established that both pbdA and pbdB are essential for growth on p-MBA and several derivatives. Furthermore, a deletion mutant of a candidate p-hydroxybenzoate (p-HBA) hydroxylase, ΔpobA, did not grow on p-HBA. Veratraldehyde and veratrate catabolism required both vanillin dehydrogenase (Vdh) and vanillate O-demethylase (VanAB), revealing previously unknown roles of these enzymes. Finally, a ΔpcaL strain grew on neither p-MBA nor veratrate, indicating they are catabolized through the β-ketoadipate pathway. This study expands our understanding of the bacterial catabolism of aromatic compounds and facilitates the development of biocatalysts for lignin valorization.IMPORTANCELignin, an abundant aromatic polymer found in plant biomass, is a promising renewable replacement for fossil fuels as a feedstock for the chemical industry. Strategies for upgrading lignin include processes that couple the catalytic fractionation of biomass and biocatalytic transformation of the resulting aromatic compounds with a microbial cell factory. Engineering microbial cell factories for this biocatalysis requires characterization of bacterial pathways involved in catabolizing lignin-derived aromatic compounds. This study identifies new pathways for lignin-derived aromatic degradation in Rhodococcus, a genus of bacteria well suited for biocatalysis. Additionally, we describe previously unknown activities of characterized enzymes on lignin-derived compounds, expanding their utility. This work advances the development of strategies to replace fossil fuel-based feedstocks with sustainable alternatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan E. Wolf
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Life Sciences Institute, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Anne T. Lalande
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Life Sciences Institute, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Brianne L. Newman
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Life Sciences Institute, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Alissa C. Bleem
- Renewable Resources and Enabling Sciences Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado, USA
| | - Chad T. Palumbo
- Renewable Resources and Enabling Sciences Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado, USA
| | - Gregg T. Beckham
- Renewable Resources and Enabling Sciences Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado, USA
| | - Lindsay D. Eltis
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Life Sciences Institute, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
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Castillo-Garcia AA, Kappe CO, Cantillo D, Barta K. Aniline Derivatives from Lignin under Mild Conditions Enabled by Electrochemistry. CHEMSUSCHEM 2024; 17:e202301374. [PMID: 37988183 DOI: 10.1002/cssc.202301374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2023] [Revised: 11/17/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 11/23/2023]
Abstract
The development of environmentally friendly methods for the valorization of important phenolic platform chemicals originating directly from lignin-first depolymerization into value-added N-chemicals, such as aniline derivatives, is of high industrial interest. In this work, we tackle this challenging transformation by the judicious combination of electrochemical conversion and chemical functionalization steps. In the first step, lignin-derived para-substituted guaiacols and syringols undergo an atom-efficient, room-temperature anodic oxidation using methanol both as solvent and reagent towards the formation of the corresponding cyclohexadienone derivatives, which are subsequently converted to synthetically challenging ortho-methoxy substituted anilines by reaction with ethyl glycinate hydrochloride under mild conditions. The developed method was applied to crude lignin depolymerization bio-oils, derived from reductive catalytic fractionation (RCF) mediated either by copper-doped porous metal oxide (Cu20 PMO) or Ru/C, allowing the selective production of 4-propanol-2-methoxyaniline (1Gb) and 4-propyl-2-methoxyaniline (2Gb), respectively, from pine lignocellulose. Finally, the application of 2Gb was further studied in the synthesis of carbazole 2Gc, a lignin-derived analogue of biologically active alkaloid murrayafoline A.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio A Castillo-Garcia
- Institute of Chemistry, University of Graz, Heinchstrasse 28, A-8010, Graz, Austria
- Stratingh Institute for Chemistry, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG, Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Christian Oliver Kappe
- Institute of Chemistry, University of Graz, Heinchstrasse 28, A-8010, Graz, Austria
- Center for Continuous Flow Synthesis and Processing (CCFLOW), Research Center Pharmaceutical Engineering GmbH (RCPE), Inffeldgasse 13, A-8010, Graz, Austria
| | - David Cantillo
- Institute of Chemistry, University of Graz, Heinchstrasse 28, A-8010, Graz, Austria
- Center for Continuous Flow Synthesis and Processing (CCFLOW), Research Center Pharmaceutical Engineering GmbH (RCPE), Inffeldgasse 13, A-8010, Graz, Austria
| | - Katalin Barta
- Institute of Chemistry, University of Graz, Heinchstrasse 28, A-8010, Graz, Austria
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