Abstract
Lignin bio-valorization is an emerging field of applied biotechnology and has not yet been studied at low temperatures. Paraburkholderia aromaticivorans AR20-38 was examined for its potential to degrade six selected lignin monomers (syringic acid, p-coumaric acid, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, ferulic acid, vanillic acid, benzoic acid) from different upper funneling aromatic pathways. The strain degraded four of these compounds at 10°C, 20°C, and 30°C; syringic acid and vanillic acid were not utilized as sole carbon source. The degradation of 5 mM and 10 mM ferulic acid was accompanied by the stable accumulation of high amounts of the value-added product vanillic acid (85–89% molar yield; 760 and 1540 mg l−1, respectively) over the whole temperature range tested. The presence of essential genes required for reactions in the upper funneling pathways was confirmed in the genome. This is the first report on biodegradation of lignin monomers and the stable vanillic acid production at low and moderate temperatures by P. aromaticivorans.Key points• Paraburkholderia aromaticivorans AR20-38 successfully degrades four lignin monomers.• Successful degradation study at low (10°C) and moderate temperatures (20–30°C).• Biotechnological value: high yield of vanillic acid produced from ferulic acid.
Highlights
Natural lignin is the second most abundant organic substance in the world (Ľudmila et al 2015; Ganewatta et al 2019)
At a cultivation temperature of 10°C, 5 mM hydroxybenzoic acid (HBA) and benzoic acid (BA) were fully degraded after 3 days, while 6 and 9 days were needed for the full degradation of 5 mM coumaric acid (CA) and ferulic acid (FA), respectively
At 30°C, CA, HBA, and BA were consumed after 1 day, while 6 days were needed for FA
Summary
Natural lignin is the second most abundant organic substance in the world (next to cellulose) (Ľudmila et al 2015; Ganewatta et al 2019). The global amount of available lignin in the biosphere is approximately 300 billion tons, with an annual increase of approximately 20 billion tons (Becker and Wittmann 2019) It is found in the secondary cell wall of lignocellulosic plants and provides structural strength, Due to its complex and heterogeneous composition and structure, natural lignin is one of the most recalcitrant biopolymers (Bugg et al 2011; Ganewatta et al 2019). No commercial biocatalytic process for lignin depolymerization could be
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