Elucidating aromatic catabolic pathways in white-rot fungi
EMSL Project ID
51646
Abstract
Lignin is a heterogeneous aromatic polymer found in the cell walls of terrestrial plants and accounts for 30% of the organic carbon in the biosphere. White-rot fungi (WRF) are unquestionably the most efficient lignin-degrading organisms in Nature, and are thus responsible for a substantial amount of carbon turnover on Earth. While lignin depolymerization by WRF has been studied for decades and is very well accepted, the ability of WRF to catabolize lignin-depolymerization products as carbon and energy sources remains virtually unknown. However, recent 13C-labeling studies in our laboratory have definitively demonstrated that certain WRF funnel lignin-derived aromatic compounds to central metabolism to be utilized as carbon sources. Considering the lack of information on aromatic catabolic pathways in WRF, we will need the support from EMSL's advanced multi-omics capabilities (metabolomics, proteomics, and transcriptomics) to elucidate extracellular and intracellular catabolic pathways in these organisms. This information will be valuable to better understand global carbon cycling and soil ecosystems but also to develop more efficient hosts to convert lignin into high-value products.
Project Details
Project type
Exploratory Research
Start Date
2020-12-01
End Date
2022-04-22
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Team Members