Project description:Lignin is a universal waste product of the agricultural industry and is currently seen as a potential feedstock for more sustainable manufacturing. While it is the second most abundant biopolymer in the world, most of it is currently burned as it is a very recalcitrant material. Many recent studies, however, have demonstrated the viability of biocatalysis to improve the value of this feedstock and convert it into more useful chemicals, such as polyhydroxybutyrate, and clean fuels like hydrogen and n-butanol. Rhodopseudomonas palustris is a gram-negative bacterium which demonstrates a plethora of desirable metabolic capabilities, including aromatic catabolism useful for lignin degradation. This study uses a multi-omics approach, including the first usage of CRISPRi in R. palustris, to investigate the lignin consumption mechanisms of R. palustris, the essentiality of redox homeostasis to lignin consumption, elucidate a potential lignin catabolic superpathway, and enable more economically viable sustainable lignin valorization processes.
Project description:Consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) represents a promising approach to convert biomass into valuable chemicals by integrating the hydrolysis of cellulose and hemicellulose with microbial fermentation in a single step. This study investigates the potential of CBP technique for the efficient conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into malic acid using the thermophilic fungus Myceliophthora thermophila. Transcriptomic analysis and genetic studies indicated that efficient degradation of lignin is crucial for improving the overall efficiency of CBP, as it facilitates access to cellulose and hemicellulose while enabling the utilization of lignin-derived compounds. The assay of lignin degradation products revealed that M. thermophila can channel main lignin-derived components into the central metabolic pathway for malic acid production. The combined enhancement of lignin degradation capabilities and optimization of the cellodextrin utilization pathway in M. thermophila resulted in 52.9% increase in malic acid production, from 36.3 g/L to 55.5 g/L directly from raw corncob. In a bioreactor, malic acid titer reached 151.2 g/L by one-step bioconversion of plant biomass, with the productivity and yield of 1.09 g/L/h and 0.55 g/g raw corncob. Following separation and purification, the purity of malic acid reached 99%. This study underscores the viability of CBP as a sustainable approach for biobased chemical production and emphasizes the importance of optimizing both lignin degradation and product synthesis pathways to maximize the efficiency of biomass conversion processes.
Project description:Very little is known about the mechanism controlling petiole rigidity in sacred lotus (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.). To investigate the mechanism controlling the lotus petiole rigidity, morphological and proteomic analyses were performed. Anatomically, there is a great variation between the petioles of floating and vertical leaves. The number of vascular bundles, ligneous cells and thickness of cell wall were higher in the initial vertical leaf petiole (IVP) compared to the initial floating leaf petiole (IFP). A total of 4855 proteins were quantified through comparative proteomic analysis, among which 421 proteins expressed 1.5 folds higher in IFP and 483 proteins expressed 1.5 folds higher in IVP. Protein function categories indicated hundreds of proteins involved in cell wall organization and biosynthesis, and cell wall assembly. Functional enrichment analysis for the differentially abundant proteins indicated the enrichment of 105 proteins in 6 different pathways, while 43 out the total proteins were enriched in lignin biosynthesis pathway. In consistent with genes and proteins expressions in lignin biosynthesis, the contents of lignin monomers precursors were significantly different in IFP and IVP. These findings support the involvement of lignin in lotus petioles rigidity.