Uptake system of lignin-derived aromatic acids in promising Sphingomonadaceae strains for lignin valorization through biological funneling

Abstract The production of value-added chemicals from lignin-derived aromatic compounds through bacterial catabolism has attracted attention. Sphingobium lignivorans SYK-6 can catabolize various lignin-derived aromatic compounds that can be used for this purpose. PcaK (Sl-PcaK), a member of the majo...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Masaya Fujita, Ryo Hirano, Kota Nagayoshi, Naofumi Kamimura, Eiji Masai
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-07-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-08757-x
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Summary:Abstract The production of value-added chemicals from lignin-derived aromatic compounds through bacterial catabolism has attracted attention. Sphingobium lignivorans SYK-6 can catabolize various lignin-derived aromatic compounds that can be used for this purpose. PcaK (Sl-PcaK), a member of the major facilitator superfamily (MFS) transporters in SYK-6, is known to be involved in the uptake of protocatechuic acid (PCA) and vanillic acid (VA) in the inner membrane. Here, we demonstrated that Sl-PcaK also mediates the uptake of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (HBA), syringic acid (SA), and ferulic acid (FA). Saro_0804 (Na-pcaK), with 58% amino acid sequence identity to Sl-PcaK, is present in Novosphingobium aromaticivorans DSM 12444. Na-pcaK plays a role in the uptake of PCA, HBA, VA, and SA. The increased expression of Sl-pcaK or Na-pcaK in SYK-6 cells improved the conversion rates of VA, SA, and FA 1.12-1.33-fold compared with the control strain, suggesting that these genes could serve as tools to improve the production efficiency of target metabolites.
ISSN:2045-2322