Bacterial Enzymes for Lignin Oxidation and Conversion to Renewable Chemicals

Abstract

Although microbial lignin degradation has been studied mainly in fungi, in recent years several bacterial enzymes capable of lignin oxidation have been discovered. Pathway engineering studies in genetically tractable bacterial lignin degraders have shown the potential to generate renewable chemicals from lignocellulose or polymeric lignin preparations via fermentation. The chapter describes each class of bacterial lignin-oxidising enzyme, such as DyP peroxidases, bacterial laccases, and beta-etherase enzymes; the current knowledge of bacterial lignin degradation pathways, and current efforts to produce renewable chemicals from polymeric lignin using bacterial fermentation.