Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2019 Aug 5:12:192.
doi: 10.1186/s13068-019-1535-3. eCollection 2019.

Development of Rhodococcus opacus as a chassis for lignin valorization and bioproduction of high-value compounds

Winston E Anthony #  1 , Rhiannon R Carr #  2 , Drew M DeLorenzo  2 , Tayte P Campbell  1 , Zeyu Shang  2 , Marcus Foston  2 , Tae Seok Moon  2 , Gautam Dantas  1   3   4   5
Affiliations
Review

Development of Rhodococcus opacus as a chassis for lignin valorization and bioproduction of high-value compounds

Winston E Anthony et al. Biotechnol Biofuels. .

Abstract

The current extraction and use of fossil fuels has been linked to extensive negative health and environmental outcomes. Lignocellulosic biomass-derived biofuels and bioproducts are being actively considered as renewable alternatives to the fuels, chemicals, and materials produced from fossil fuels. A major challenge limiting large-scale, economic deployment of second-generation biorefineries is the insufficient product yield, diversity, and value that current conversion technologies can extract from lignocellulose, in particular from the underutilized lignin fraction. Rhodococcus opacus PD630 is an oleaginous gram-positive bacterium with innate catabolic pathways and tolerance mechanisms for the inhibitory aromatic compounds found in depolymerized lignin, as well as native or engineered pathways for hexose and pentose sugars found in the carbohydrate fractions of biomass. As a result, R. opacus holds potential as a biological chassis for the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into biodiesel precursors and other value-added products. This review begins by examining the important role that lignin utilization will play in the future of biorefineries and by providing a concise survey of the current lignin conversion technologies. The genetic machinery and capabilities of R. opacus that allow the bacterium to tolerate and metabolize aromatic compounds and depolymerized lignin are also discussed, along with a synopsis of the genetic toolbox and synthetic biology methods now available for engineering this organism. Finally, we summarize the different feedstocks that R. opacus has been demonstrated to consume, and the high-value products that it has been shown to produce. Engineered R. opacus will enable lignin valorization over the coming years, leading to cost-effective conversion of lignocellulose into fuels, chemicals, and materials.

Keywords: Aromatic compound; Biofuel; Biological conversion; Bioproduct; Genetic tool; Lignin; Lignocellulose; Non-model organism; Rhodococcus opacus PD630; Thermochemical conversion.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interestsThe authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Aromatic degradation and carbon metabolism in R. opacus. R. opacus genes involved in reactions are listed. Dashed arrows represent multiple intermediate steps not shown. Xylose and arabinose consumptions occur via engineered pathways
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Prasad PVV, Thomas JMG, Narayanan S. Global warming effects. In: Thomas B, Murray BG, Murphy DJ, editors. Encyclopedia of applied plant sciences. 2. Oxford: Academic Press; 2017. pp. 289–299.
    1. Zirogiannis N, Hollingsworth AJ, Konisky DM. Understanding excess emissions from industrial facilities: evidence from texas. Environ Sci Technol. 2018;52(5):2482–2490. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.7b04887. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lewis P, Karimi B, Shan Y, Rasdorf W. Comparing the economic, energy, and environmental impacts of biodiesel versus petroleum diesel fuel use in construction equipment. Int J Constr Educ Res. 2018;1:15. doi: 10.1080/15578771.2018.1483982. - DOI
    1. Kalghatgi G. Is it really the end of internal combustion engines and petroleum in transport? Appl Energy. 2018;225:965–974. doi: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.05.076. - DOI
    1. Elgowainy A, Han J, Ward J, Joseck F, Gohlke D, Lindauer A, et al. Current and future united states light-duty vehicle pathways: Cradle-to-Grave lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions and economic assessment. Environ Sci Technol. 2018;52(4):2392–2399. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.7b06006. - DOI - PubMed