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Review
. 2019 Feb 15:12:32.
doi: 10.1186/s13068-019-1376-0. eCollection 2019.

Recent advances in lignin valorization with bacterial cultures: microorganisms, metabolic pathways, and bio-products

Zhaoxian Xu  1 , Peng Lei  2 , Rui Zhai  1 , Zhiqiang Wen  1 , Mingjie Jin  1
Affiliations
Review

Recent advances in lignin valorization with bacterial cultures: microorganisms, metabolic pathways, and bio-products

Zhaoxian Xu et al. Biotechnol Biofuels. .

Abstract

Lignin is the most abundant aromatic substrate on Earth and its valorization technologies are still under developed. Depolymerization and fragmentation are the predominant preparatory strategies for valorization of lignin to chemicals and fuels. However, due to the structural heterogeneity of lignin, depolymerization and fragmentation typically result in diverse product species, which require extensive separation and purification procedures to obtain target products. For lignin valorization, bacterial-based systems have attracted increasing attention because of their diverse metabolisms, which can be used to funnel multiple lignin-based compounds into specific target products. Here, recent advances in lignin valorization using bacteria are critically reviewed, including lignin-degrading bacteria that are able to degrade lignin and use lignin-associated aromatics, various associated metabolic pathways, and application of bacterial cultures for lignin valorization. This review will provide insight into the recent breakthroughs and future trends of lignin valorization based on bacterial systems.

Keywords: Aromatic compounds; Biodegradation; Biorefinery; Lignin valorization; Lignin-degrading bacteria; Lipid production; Metabolism of lignin-based aromatics; PHA production; cis, cis-muconic acid production.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The basic structure and compositions of lignin units in different species. The lignin unit compositions mentioned here were quantified by 2D nuclear magnetic resonance technology [58]. H-lignin here may contain some residual 4-vinyl-phenol that comes from p-coumaric acid, which should not be included in “lignin”
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The scheme of degradation pathways for lignin-based aromatics (adapted from [4, 73, 95, 138, 139])
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
The scheme of hybrid lignin valorization route with depolymerization process and biochemical assimilation system
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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