Elucidation and application of lignin degradation pathways in bacteria
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Warwick
Department Name: Chemistry
Abstract
A current bottleneck in metabolic engineering of lignin degradation is a poor understanding of the metabolic pathways by which oxidised lignin fragments are converted into monocyclic aromatics such as protocatechuic acid or catechol, which are then processed by known aromatic degradation pathways. The aim of this project is to elucidate these pathways, using reporter assays and screening of gene libraries, and to apply these pathways for metabolic engineering of lignin degradation to generate new bioproducts.