A wide array of lignin-related phenolics are oxidized by an evolved bacterial dye-decolourising peroxidase

Lignin is the second most abundant natural polymer next to cellulose and by far the largest renewable source of aromatic compounds on the planet. Dye-decolourising peroxidases (DyPs) are biocatalysts with immense potential in lignocellulose biorefineries to valorize emerging lignin building blocks for environmentally friendly chemicals and materials. This work investigates the catalytic potential of the engineered PpDyP variant 6E10 for the oxidation of 24 syringyl, guaiacyl and hydroxybenzene lignin-phenolic derivatives. Variant 6E10 exhibited up to 100-fold higher oxidation rates at pH 8 for all the tested phenolic substrates compared to the wild-type enzyme and other acidic DyPs described in the literature. The main products of reactions were dimeric isomers with molecular weights of (2 × MW_substrate - 2 H). Their structure depends on the substitution pattern of the aromatic ring of substrates, i.e., of the coupling possibilities of the primarily formed radicals upon enzymatic oxidation. Among the dimers identified were syringaresinol, divanillin and diapocynin, important sources of structural scaffolds exploitable in medicinal chemistry, food additives and polymers.