Enzymatic conversion of lignin into renewable chemicals.

Enzymatic conversion of lignin into renewable chemicals.
Curr Opin Chem Biol. 2015 Jun 25;29:10-17
Authors: Bugg TD, Rahmanpour R
Abstract
The aromatic heteropolymer lignin is a major component of plant cell walls, and is produced industrially from paper/pulp manufacture and cellulosic bioethanol production. Conversion of lignin into renewable chemicals is a major unsolved problem in the development of a biomass-based biorefinery. The review describes recent developments in the understanding of bacterial enzymes for lignin breakdown, such as DyP peroxidases, bacterial laccases, and beta-etherase enzymes. The use of pathway engineering methods to construct genetically modified microbes to convert lignin to renewable chemicals (e.g. vanillin, adipic acid) via fermentation is discussed, and the search for novel applications for lignin (e.g. carbon fibre).
PMID: 26121945 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Source: Current Opinion in Chemical Biology - June 25, 2015 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Bugg TD, Rahmanpour R Tags: Curr Opin Chem Biol Source Type: research