Vanillic acid and methoxyhydroquinone production from guaiacyl units and related aromatic compounds using Aspergillus niger cell factories

Background The aromatic compounds vanillin and vanillic acid are important fragrances used in the food, beverage, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. Currently, most aromatic compounds used in products are chemically synthesized, while only a small percentage is extracted from natural sources. T...

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Published in:Microbial cell factories Vol. 20; no. 1; pp. 151 - 14
Main Authors: Lubbers, Ronnie J. M., Dilokpimol, Adiphol, Nousiainen, Paula A., Cioc, Răzvan C., Visser, Jaap, Bruijnincx, Pieter C. A., de Vries, Ronald P.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: London BioMed Central 03.08.2021
BioMed Central Ltd
Springer Nature B.V
BMC
Subjects:
4-Hydroxy-6-methoxy-6-oxohexa-2,4-dienoic acid
4-Oxo-monomethyl adipate
Alcohol
Applied Microbiology
Aromatic compounds
Aspergillus
Aspergillus niger
Aspergillus niger - enzymology
Aspergillus niger - genetics
Aspergillus niger - metabolism
Bacteria
Benzaldehydes - metabolism
Biodegradation
Biotechnology
Carbon
Chemical properties
Chemical synthesis
Chemistry
Chemistry and Materials Science
Coniferyl alcohol
Degradation
Dehydrogenases
Deletion
Deletion mutant
Dioxygenase
Enzymatic activity
Enzymes
Enzymology
Esterase
Factories
Ferulic acid
Fungal cell factory
Fungi
Genes
Genetic Engineering
Genomes
Hydroquinones - chemistry
Hydroquinones - metabolism
Hydroxylase
Industrial engineering
Lignin
Lignin - metabolism
Manufacturing engineering
Metabolic Networks and Pathways - genetics
Metabolic pathways
Metabolism
Metabolites
Microbial Genetics and Genomics
Microbiology
Microorganisms
Mixed Function Oxygenases
Pharmaceutical industry
Production processes
Transcriptomes
Vanillic acid
Vanillic Acid - analysis
Vanillic Acid - metabolism
Vanillin
Netherlands
Lignin
Coniferyl alcohol
4-Hydroxy-6-methoxy-6-oxohexa-2,4-dienoic acid
Fungal cell factory
Vanillin
Veratic acid
4-Oxo-monomethyl adipate
Ferulic acid
ISSN:1475-2859, 1475-2859
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Background The aromatic compounds vanillin and vanillic acid are important fragrances used in the food, beverage, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. Currently, most aromatic compounds used in products are chemically synthesized, while only a small percentage is extracted from natural sources. The metabolism of vanillin and vanillic acid has been studied for decades in microorganisms and many studies have been conducted that showed that both can be produced from ferulic acid using bacteria. In contrast, the degradation of vanillin and vanillic acid by fungi is poorly studied and no genes involved in this metabolic pathway have been identified. In this study, we aimed to clarify this metabolic pathway in Aspergillus niger and identify the genes involved. Results Using whole-genome transcriptome data, four genes involved in vanillin and vanillic acid metabolism were identified. These include vanillin dehydrogenase ( vdhA ), vanillic acid hydroxylase ( vhyA ), and two genes encoding novel enzymes, which function as methoxyhydroquinone 1,2-dioxygenase ( mhdA ) and 4-oxo-monomethyl adipate esterase ( omeA ). Deletion of these genes in A. niger confirmed their role in aromatic metabolism and the enzymatic activities of these enzymes were verified. In addition, we demonstrated that mhdA and vhyA deletion mutants can be used as fungal cell factories for the accumulation of vanillic acid and methoxyhydroquinone from guaiacyl lignin units and related aromatic compounds. Conclusions This study provides new insights into the fungal aromatic metabolic pathways involved in the degradation of guaiacyl units and related aromatic compounds. The identification of the involved genes unlocks new potential for engineering aromatic compound-producing fungal cell factories.
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ISSN:1475-2859
1475-2859
DOI:10.1186/s12934-021-01643-x