Generation of high-value sesquiterpene products from renewable feedstocks using lignin-degrading microbes

Conversion of the aromatic heteropolymer lignin found in plant biomass to renewable chemicals is a topical area of biorefinery research around the world. Lignin degradation pathways lead into primary metabolism, and there are examples of bioproducts formed from lignin via primary metabolism, so it should be possible to generate new high-value products via primary metabolic pathways. In this project we will seek to produce three high-value sesquiterpene natural products from renewable lignin or lignocellulose feedstocks in lignin degrading hosts Rhodococcus jostii RHA1 and Pseudomonas putida KT2440. We will also investigate other possible eukaryotic hosts for conversion of lignocellulose feedstocks into terpenoid bioproducts, and use metabolic engineering methods to optimise product titre.