Phenylpropanoid methyl esterase unlocks catabolism of aromatic biological nitrification inhibitors

Abstract Microbial nitrification of fertilizers represents is a significant global source of greenhouse gas emissions. This process increases emissions, fosters toxic algal blooms, and raises crop production costs. Some plants naturally release biological nitrification inhibitors to suppress ammonium-oxidizing microbes and reduce nitrification. Engineering nitrification inhibitor production into food and bioenergy crops via synthetic biology offers a promising mitigation strategy, but its success depends on addressing gaps in our understanding of inhibitor degradation in soil. This study begins to fill this gap by identifying a previously unknown microbial pathway for degrading phenylpropanoid methyl esters, a key class of aromatic nitrification inhibitors. Using transcriptomics and high-throughput functional genomics, we discovered genes essential for phenylpropanoid methyl ester degradation. Genetic and biochemical analyses revealed two novel enzymes, including a newly identified phenylpropanoid methyl esterase, that direct phenylpropanoid methyl esters into known metabolic pathways. Importantly, transferring these genes into bacteria capable of metabolizing other phenylpropanoids enabled them to use the methyl esters as a carbon source. This work provides critical insights into microbial nitrification inhibitor degradation, a poorly understood element of the nitrification cycle.

• Publication year

  2025

• Venue

  The ISME Journal

• Publication date

  2025-01-01

• Fields of study

  Biology, Medicine, Chemistry, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1093/ismejo/wraf251PMID 41230824PMCID 12642758
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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