Cross-kingdom comparative genomics reveal the metabolic potential of fungi for lignin turnover in deadwood.

ABSTRACT: Deadwood is a major carbon source in forests, and yet the fate of this carbon remains a gap in our understanding of global carbon cycling. Lignin, the most recalcitrant biopolymer in wood, is mainly decayed through extracellular enzymatic and chemical processes initiated by white-rot fungi. However, the intracellular conversion of lignin decay products has been overlooked in the fungal kingdom. Here we integrate comparative genomic and phylogenetic analyses to understand the distribution and evolution of enzymes responsible for modifying lignin-related aromatic compounds-such as decarboxylases, hydroxylases, dioxygenases and other downstream ring-cleavage enzymes-that funnel carbon to central metabolism across the bacterial and the fungal kingdoms. We demonstrate that specific fungal linea

SUBMITTER: Kijpornyongpan T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12420386 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature