2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Production of useful aromatic compounds from lignin-derived aromatic compounds using biphenyl/PCB-degrading bacteria

Research Project

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Project/Area Number	16H04953
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Section	一般
Research Field	Wood science
Research Institution	Kyoto University
Principal Investigator	WATANABE Takahito 京都大学, 生存圏研究所, 助教 (30362403)
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha)	藤原秀彦別府大学, 公私立大学の部局等, 准教授 (10435167)
Project Period (FY)	2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
Keywords	リグニン / ビフェニル / PCB / プロテオミクス / ゲノミクス
Outline of Final Research Achievements	A variety of microorganisms play a significant role in the mineralization of plant lignin. We have isolated a number of biphenyl/PCB-degrading bacteria from various environmental samples and studied the degradation modes from the biochemical and genetic bases. In this study, we found that some biphenyl/PCB-degrading bacteria can grow well on lignin-derived aromatic compounds as the sole sources of carbon and energy. Using gel-based proteomics, we found that many proteins responsible for the metabolism of aromatic compounds are inducibly expressed in a Pseudomonas strain. We also cloned the lignin peroxidase genes from a Rhodococcus strain and expressed them. The results show that using proteomic and genomic approaches, we can efficiently screen and identify candidate proteins and genes involved in the metabolism of lignin-derived aromatic compounds from biphenyl/PCB-degrading bacteria. These approaches can also lead to the production of useful aromatic compounds from wood biomass.
Free Research Field	応用微生物学
Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements	本研究では，難分解性芳香族化合物の分解系を有する環境汚染物質分解細菌（ビフェニル/PCB 分解細菌）を用いてリグニンやその分解生成物から有用な芳香族化合物生産の基盤構築を目指した．今回は，ビフェニル/PCB 分解細菌のゲノム情報等を最大限に活用しつつ，プロテオミクスの手法も駆使し，有用な芳香族化合物生産のための酵素や遺伝子をスクリーニングすることができた．これらの成果は，「分解菌を生産菌に変える」という菌の育種を通じて新たな芳香族化合物の分解代謝系の構築に繋がる．さらには，リグニン由来の芳香族化合物の機能性バイオマテリアルの開発や新しいリグニンビジネスの創出への一助となる．