Biobased de novo synthesis, upcycling, and recycling - the heartbeat toward a green and sustainable polyethylene terephthalate industry.

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) has revolutionized the industrial sector because of its versatility, with its predominant uses in the textiles and packaging materials industries. Despite the various advantages of this polymer, its synthesis is, unfavorably, tightly intertwined with nonrenewable fossil resources. Additionally, given its widespread use, accumulating PET waste poses a significant environmental challenge.

Systems metabolic engineering upgrades Corynebacterium glutamicum for selective high-level production of the chiral drug precursor and cell-protective extremolyte L-pipecolic acid.

The nonproteinogenic cyclic metabolite l-pipecolic acid is a chiral precursor for the synthesis of various commercial drugs and functions as a cell-protective extremolyte and mediator of defense in plants, enabling high-value applications in the pharmaceutical, medical, cosmetic, and agrochemical markets. To date, the production of the compound is unfavorably fossil-based. Here, we upgraded the strain Corynebacterium glutamicum for l-pipecolic acid production using systems metabolic engineering.

Systems metabolic engineering upgrades Corynebacterium glutamicum to high-efficiency cis, cis-muconic acid production from lignin-based aromatics.

Lignin displays a highly challenging renewable. To date, massive amounts of lignin, generated in lignocellulosic processing facilities, are for the most part merely burned due to lacking value-added alternatives. Aromatic lignin monomers of recognized relevance are in particular vanillin, and to a lesser extent vanillate, because they are accessible at high yield from softwood-lignin using industrially operated alkaline oxidative depolymerization.

Biobased PET from lignin using an engineered cis, cis-muconate-producing Pseudomonas putida strain with superior robustness, energy and redox properties.

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the most common synthetic polyester today, is largely produced from fossil resources, contributing to global warming. Consequently, sustainable sources must be developed to meet the increasing demand for this useful polymer. Here, we demonstrate a cascaded value chain that provides green PET from lignin, the world's most underutilized renewable, via fermentative production of cis, cis-muconate (MA) from lignin-based aromatics as a central step.

Guiding stars to the field of dreams: Metabolically engineered pathways and microbial platforms for a sustainable lignin-based industry.

Lignin is an important structural component of terrestrial plants and is readily generated during biomass fractionation in lignocellulose processing facilities. Due to lacking alternatives the majority of technical lignins is industrially simply burned into heat and energy. However, considering its vast abundance and a chemically interesting richness in aromatics, lignin is presently regarded both as the most under-utilized and promising feedstock for value-added applications.