DOE OSTI2020
Valorization of all major lignocellulose components, including lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose is critical for an economically viable bioeconomy. In most biochemical conversion approaches, the standard process separately upgrades sugar hydrolysates and lignin. Here, we present a new process concept based on an engineered microbe that could enable simultaneous upgrading of all lignocellulose streams, which has the ultimate potential to reduce capital cost and enable new metabolic engineering strategies. Specifically, we engineered Pseudomonas putida, a robust microorganism capable of catabolizing aromatic compounds, organic acids, and D-glucose, to utilize D-xylose and L-arabinose by tuning D-xylose transport and pentose phosphate pathway flux. Distinct L-arabinose pathways enabled D-glucose, D-xylose, and L-arabinose co-utilization in minimal medium using model compounds as well as corn stover hydrolysate. After modifying catabolite repression, our engineered P. putida simultaneously co-utilized five representative compounds from cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, demonstrating the feasibility of simultaneously upgrading total lignocellulosic biomass to value-added chemicals.