Lignin is a plant heteropolymer composed of phenolic subunits. Because of its heterogeneity and recalcitrance, the development of efficient methods for its valorization still remains an open challenge. One approach to utilize lignin is its chemical deconstruction into mixtures of monomeric phenolic compounds followed by biological funneling into a single product. Novosphingobium aromaticivorans DSM12444 has been previously engineered to produce 2-pyrone-4,6-dicarboxylic acid (PDC) from depolymerized lignin by simultaneously metabolizing multiple aromatics through convergent routes involving the intermediates 3-methoxygallic acid (3-MGA) and protocatechuic acid (PCA). We investigated enzymes predicted to be responsible for O-demethylation and oxidative aromatic ring opening, two critical reactions involved in the metabolism of phenolics compounds by N. aromaticivorans. The results showed the involvement of DesA in O-demethylation of syringic and vanillic acids, LigM in O-demethylation of vanillic acid and 3-MGA, and a new O-demethylase, DmtS, in the conversion of 3-MGA into gallic acid (GA). In addition, we found that LigAB was the main aromatic ring opening dioxygenase involved in 3-MGA, PCA, and GA metabolism, and that a previously uncharacterized dioxygenase, LigAB2, had high activity with GA. Our results indicate a metabolic route not previously identified in N. aromaticivorans that involves O-demethylation of 3-MGA to GA. We predict this pathway channels ∼15% of the carbon flow from syringic acid, with the rest following ring opening of 3-MGA. The new knowledge obtained in this study allowed for the creation of an improved engineered strain for the funneling of aromatic compounds that exhibits stoichiometric conversion of syringic acid into PDC.IMPORTANCEFor lignocellulosic biorefineries to effectively contribute to reduction of fossil fuel use, they need to become efficient at producing chemicals from all major components of plant biomass. Making products from lignin will require engineering microorganisms to funnel multiple phenolic compounds to the chemicals of interest, and N. aromaticivorans is a promising chassis for this technology. The ability of N. aromaticivorans to efficiently and simultaneously degrade many phenolic compounds may be linked to having functionally redundant aromatic degradation pathways and enzymes with broad substrate specificity. A detailed knowledge of aromatic degradation pathways is thus essential to identify genetic engineering targets to maximize product yields. Furthermore, knowledge of enzyme substrate specificity is critical to redirect flow of carbon to desired pathways. This study described an uncharacterized pathway in N. aromaticivorans and the enzymes that participate in this pathway, allowing the engineering of an improved strain for production of PDC from lignin.

Primordial germ cells (PGCs) are the undifferentiated progenitors of gametes. Germline competent PGCs can be developed as a cell-based system for genetic modification in chickens, which provides a valuable tool for transgenic technology with both research and industrial applications. This implies manipulation of PGCs, which, in recent years, encouraged a lot of research focused on the study of PGCs and the way of improving their culture. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor that besides mediating toxic responses to environmental contaminants plays pivotal physiological roles in various biological processes. Since a novel compound that acts as an antagonist of this receptor has been reported to promote expansion of hematopoietic stem cells, we conducted the present study with the aim of determining whether addition of an established AHR antagonist to the standard culture medium used nowadays for in vitro chicken PGCs culture improves ex vivo expansion. We have found that addition of a-naphthoflavone in culture medium promotes the amplification of undifferentiated cells and that this effect is exerted by the blockade of AHR action. Our results constitute the first report of the successful use of a readily available AHR antagonist to improve avian PGCs expansion, and they further extend the knowledge of the effects of AHR modulation in undifferentiated cells.