A defined synthetic lignin-valorization coculture pairing a lignin-derived dimer-cleaving Sphingobium sp. with the aromatic-monomer-converting bacterium Rhodococcus opacus. The coculture was designed to funnel multiple low-molecular-weight lignin-derived dimers into cis,cis-muconate and gallate, addressing a key bottleneck in biological lignin conversion. The system is DOE-relevant because it targets lignin, a major underutilized component of lignocellulosic biomass, and demonstrates division of labor for microbial production of renewable chemical intermediates from lignin-derived aromatics.
Taxonomy
| Taxon | Ontology ID | Functional Roles | Abundance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sphingobium sp. — ontology label: Sphingobium | NCBITaxon:165695 · TaxonMech · TraitMech |
PRIMARY_DEGRADER
CROSS_FEEDER
|
ABUNDANT |
|
|||
| Rhodococcus opacus | NCBITaxon:37919 · TaxonMech · TraitMech |
CROSS_FEEDER
PRIMARY_PRODUCER
|
ABUNDANT |
|
|||
Ecological Interactions
The graph shows only explicitly linked interaction participants. Community members without an asserted participant link are omitted; membership alone does not imply an interaction.
Designed Lignin-Dimer Cleavage and Monomer-Conversion Coupling
HYPOTHESIZED: the designed coculture systems combine the lignin-dimer-cleavage bacterium Sphingobium sp. with the monomer-conversion bacterium R. opacus. PARTIAL: this supports a cleavage-to-conversion design, but the accessible abstract does not trace a specific exchanged intermediate between partners or identify each strain/formulation variant. Listed metabolites are feedstock context, not a measured exchange pool.
Source Taxon: Sphingobium sp.
Target Taxon: Rhodococcus opacus
Metabolites: lignin (CHEBI:6457 · MediaIngredientMech · CMMMech), guaiacylglycerol-beta-guaiacyl ether (CHEBI:53650 · MediaIngredientMech · CMMMech)
HYPOTHESIZED/PARTIAL: dimer cleavage is the designed upstream step supplying substrates for monomer conversion in the source coculture systems. The abstract implies this coupling but does not trace the transferred intermediate, isolate its causal contribution, or demonstrate simultaneous muconate/gallate production by one formulation.
Evidence
-
PMID:36030484 - PARTIAL (IN_VITRO)"combining lignin-derived dimers cleavage bacterium Sphingobium sp. and monomers conversion bacterium Rhodococcus opacus"
Reported Lignin-Dimer Conversion Outcomes
The developed coculture systems converted multiple lignin-derived dimer classes to cis,cis-muconate. The abstract separately reports potential for gallate conversion; this is not a coequal quantified product result or demonstrated simultaneous production of both products by one formulation. Exact strain/formulation variants are not resolved by the accessible abstract.
Metabolites: cis,cis-muconate (CHEBI:32379 · MediaIngredientMech · CMMMech), gallate (CHEBI:16918 · MediaIngredientMech · CMMMech)
Evidence
-
PMID:36030484 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)"were converted to cis, cis-muconate"
-
PMID:36030484 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)"the developed coculture systems also showed potential in conversion of lignin-derived dimers to gallate."
Lignin-Dimer Linkage-Class Substrate Range
The abstract reports conversion of beta-O-4, 4-O-5, beta-5, beta-beta, beta-1 and 5-5 lignin-derived dimers to cis,cis-muconate using the developed coculture systems. This is substrate-range evidence, not distinct partner niches or reduced competition. It does not constitute a separate causal driver of the product node.
Metabolites: lignin (CHEBI:6457 · MediaIngredientMech · CMMMech)
Evidence
-
PMID:36030484 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)"β-O-4 type dimer guaiacylglycerol-β-guaiacyl ether"
-
PMID:36030484 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)"4-O-5 type dimer 4,4'-dihydroxydiphenyl ether"
-
PMID:36030484 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)"β-5 type dimer balanophonin"
Associated Datasets
| Dataset | Type | Repository | Accession |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Rhodococcus opacus and Sphingobium sp. lignin-dimer coculture publication
PubMed-indexed Biotechnology and Bioengineering study developing Rhodococcus opacus and Sphingobium sp. coculture systems for lignin-derived dimer valorization. |
PHENOTYPE | OTHER | PMID:36030484 |
Knowledge gaps & discussions (1)
KNOWLEDGE_GAP OPEN Which exact coculture variants and transferred intermediates underlie the reported muconate outcomes and qualified gallate potential?
The abstract describes systems plural and combines cleavage and monomer-conversion roles. Keep the existing direction as HYPOTHESIZED/PARTIAL and preserve substrate coverage, without converting background monomer studies into this-system evidence or asserting simultaneous products. The primary publisher URL redirected to an abstract/access page; no full body or supplement was read.
Attaches to: ecological_interactions#Designed Lignin-Dimer Cleavage and Monomer-Conversion Coupling, ecological_interactions#Reported Lignin-Dimer Conversion Outcomes, ecological_interactions#Lignin-Dimer Linkage-Class Substrate Range
1 evidence item(s)
combining lignin-derived dimers cleavage bacterium Sphingobium sp. and monomers conversion bacterium Rhodococcus opacus
Supports the designed cleavage/conversion coupling, not direct tracing of exchanged intermediates; the removed second quotation described previous studies.
Environmental Factors
| Factor | Value | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Lignin-derived dimer substrates | multiple low-molecular-weight lignin-derived dimers | N/A |
|
||
| Product-funneling objective | cis,cis-muconate and gallate target products | N/A |
|
||
Growth Media
Cross-Mech Suite Links
Explore related entities across the CultureBotAI X-Mech knowledge bases: