Bacterial lignin-degrading enzymes: characterization and biocatalytic potential.

细菌是生物圈中大部分自然和人为化合物降解的原因。这种退化构成了全球碳循环的一个重要环节，对维持我们所知的生命至关重要。此外，这种降解为高效、环保的工业过程提供了丰富但几乎未被开发的生物催化剂来源。在过去的17年里，我的nserc资助的研究项目对参与芳香化合物降解的细菌酶的功能提供了新的见解。在接下来的五年里，我将把我的项目重点放在降解木质素的酶上，木质素是一种复杂的芳香聚合物，约占陆地生物量的25%。木质素与纤维素和半纤维素紧密结合，形成与木材相关的坚固刚性结构，具有极强的抗降解性。解构这种木质纤维素对于利用生物质作为可再生能源和生物材料至关重要。虽然参与这一过程的真菌酶已经研究多年，但细菌降解木质素的酶在很大程度上被忽视了。我的研究将集中在涉及木质素降解的三种酶：锰过氧化物酶，木质素二苯乙烯加氧酶和水解酶。每一种都代表了一类重要的酶，但我们对它们还没有很好地了解。拟议中的研究将增加我们对这些酶的作用以及它们如何起作用的理解。这将反过来为重要生物过程的分子机制提供基本见解，并促进其生物技术开发。更具体地说，所获得的知识将有助于设计生物催化剂，将低价值木质素转化为高价值材料，如树脂或碳纤维的原料。研究目标将采用涉及各种尖端技术的跨学科方法来实现。这项研究将受益于Eltis实验室非常独特的一些工具和方法。最后，该研究项目为学生和博士后研究人员提供了广泛的技能，为他们在学术界和工业界的职业生涯做好准备。

Bacteria are responsible for most of the degradation of natural and anthropogenic compounds in the biosphere. This degradation constitutes an essential link in the global carbon cycle and is critical to sustaining life as we know it. In addition, this degradation represents a rich, but barely tapped source of biocatalysts for efficient, environmentally friendly industrial processes. Over the past 17 years, my NSERC-funded research program has provided novel insights into the function of bacterial enzymes involved in the degradation of aromatic compounds. Over the next five years, I will focus my program on enzymes that degrade lignin, a complex aromatic polymer that comprises about 25% of the land-based biomass. Lignin occurs in tight association with cellulose and hemicellulose to form the strong, rigid structure associated with wood that is extremely resistant to degradation. Deconstructing this lignocellulose is critical to using biomass as a renewable source of energy and biomaterials. While the fungal enzymes involved in this process have been studied for many years, bacterial lignin-degrading enzymes have been largely overlooked. My research will focus on three enzymes involved in lignin degradation: a manganese peroxidase, a lignostilbene oxygenase and LigY, a hydrolase. Each of these represents an important class of enzymes that are not well understood. The proposed research will increase our understanding of what these enzymes do and how they do it. This will in turn provide fundamental insights into the molecular mechanism of important biological processes and facilitate their biotechnological exploitation. More particularly, the knowledge gained will facilitate the design of biocatalysts to transform low-value lignin into high-value materials, such as feedstock for resins or carbon fibres. The research objectives will be achieved using an interdisciplinary approach involving a variety of cutting-edge techniques. The research will benefit from a number of tools and approaches that are quite unique to the Eltis lab. Finally, the research program provides students and postdoctoral researchers with a wide range of skills, preparing them for careers in academia and industry.