URBANREC

Hardwood lignin is made of up to 75% syringyl-units and the bioconversion of syringate and syringaldehyde is therefore of considerable interest for biological valorization of lignin. In the current study, we have isolated a syringate-consuming bacterium identified as Microbacterium sp. RG1 and characterized its growth on several lignin model compounds. Growth was observed on syringate, 3-O-methylgallate, vanillate, 4-hydroxybenzoate, ferulate and p-coumarate. Toxic aromatic aldehydes such as vanillin and syringaldehyde were converted to their respective alcohols/acids which were eventually consumed with a maximum specific uptake rate of 0.02 and 0.1 mmol (gCDW h)-1 respectively. The isolate was further subjected to whole genome sequencing and putative genes related to the metabolism of syringyl-compounds were mapped for the first time in a Gram-positive bacterium. These findings will be of high significance when designing future host microorganisms and bioprocesses for the efficient valorization of pre-treated lignin feedstocks.

» Author: Krithika Ravi, Javier García-Hidalgo, Daniel P. Brink, Martin Skyvell, Marie F. Gorwa-Grauslund, Gunnar Lidén

» Reference: 10.1016/j.biortech.2019.121327

» Publication Date: 08/04/2019

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