Stephen Bell

Jul 14, 2024 | biorxiv.org | Alix C. Harlington |Tuhin Das |Keith E. Shearwin |Stephen Bell

AbstractThe O-demethylation of lignin aromatics is a rate-limiting step in their bioconversion to high-value compounds. A recently discovered cytochrome P450 enzyme SyoA was found to demethylate the sinapyl alcohol-derived (S-lignin) aromatic syringol. In this work, we solved high-resolution X-ray crystal structures of SyoA in the substrate-free and substrate-bound states and evaluate the demethylation of para-substituted S-lignin aromatics via the monooxygenase pathway and peroxide shunt pathway.