Visible light-exposed lignin facilitates cellulose solubilization by lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases

Eirik G. Kommedal, Camilla F. Angeltveit, Leesa J. Klau, Iván Ayuso-Fernández, Bjørnar Arstad, Simen G. Antonsen, Yngve Stenstrøm, Dag Ekeberg, Francisco Gírio, Florbela Carvalheiro, Svein J. Horn, Finn Lillelund Aachmann and Vincent G. H. Eijsink ()
Additional contact information
Eirik G. Kommedal: Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU)
Camilla F. Angeltveit: Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU)
Leesa J. Klau: Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
Iván Ayuso-Fernández: Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU)
Bjørnar Arstad: Process Chemistry and Functional Materials
Simen G. Antonsen: Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU)
Yngve Stenstrøm: Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU)
Dag Ekeberg: Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU)
Francisco Gírio: National Laboratory of Energy and Geology (LNEG)
Florbela Carvalheiro: National Laboratory of Energy and Geology (LNEG)
Svein J. Horn: Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU)
Finn Lillelund Aachmann: Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
Vincent G. H. Eijsink: Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU)

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract Lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) catalyze oxidative cleavage of crystalline polysaccharides such as cellulose and are crucial for the conversion of plant biomass in Nature and in industrial applications. Sunlight promotes microbial conversion of plant litter; this effect has been attributed to photochemical degradation of lignin, a major redox-active component of secondary plant cell walls that limits enzyme access to the cell wall carbohydrates. Here, we show that exposing lignin to visible light facilitates cellulose solubilization by promoting formation of H2O2 that fuels LPMO catalysis. Light-driven H2O2 formation is accompanied by oxidation of ring-conjugated olefins in the lignin, while LPMO-catalyzed oxidation of phenolic hydroxyls leads to the required priming reduction of the enzyme. The discovery that light-driven abiotic reactions in Nature can fuel H2O2-dependent redox enzymes involved in deconstructing lignocellulose may offer opportunities for bioprocessing and provides an enzymatic explanation for the known effect of visible light on biomass conversion.

Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-36660-4 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-36660-4

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36660-4

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().