Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Zahn, Michael.
Discovery, characterization, and metabolic engineering of Rieske non-heme iron monooxygenases for guaiacol O-demethylation
PDB file results of X-ray crystallography data
Supplementary information includes genelists and strain ids
Proteome results. Protein abundance was determined for N. aromaticivorans DSM12444 wild-type and strain JMN2 during growth with glucose, and for strain JMN2 during growth with guaiacol.
White-rot fungi (WRF) are the most efficient lignin-degrading organisms in nature. However, their capacity to use lignin-related aromatic compounds, such as 4-hydroxybenzoate, as carbon sources has only been described recently. Previously, the hydroxyquinol pathway was proposed for the bioconversion of these compounds in fungi, but gene- and structure-function relationships of the full enzymatic pathway remain uncharacterized in any single fungal species. Here, we characterize seven enzymes from two WRF, Trametes versicolor and Gelatoporia subvermispora, which constitute a four-enzyme cascade from 4-hydroxybenzoate to β-ketoadipate via the hydroxyquinol pathway. Furthermore, we solve the crystal structure of four of these enzymes and identify mechanistic differences with the closest bacterial and fungal structural homologs. Overall, this research expands our understanding of aromatic catabolism by WRF and establishes an alternative strategy for the conversion of lignin-related compounds to the valuable molecule β-ketoadipate, contributing to the development of biological processes for lignin valorization.