Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40981468›Full record

ArticleApplied and environmental microbiology2025

RB-TnSeq elucidates dicarboxylic-acid-specific catabolism in β-proteobacteria for improved plastic monomer upcycling.

Allison N Pearson, Julie M Lynch, Cindy N Ho, Graham A Hudson, Jacob B Roberts, Javier Menasalvas, Aaron A Vilchez, Matthew R Incha, Matthias Schmidt, Aindrila Mukhopadhyay and 4 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Applied and environmental microbiology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Allison N PearsonJoint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, California, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5383-4944
Julie M LynchJoint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, California, USA.
Cindy N HoJoint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, California, USA.
Graham A HudsonJoint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, California, USA.
Jacob B RobertsJoint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, California, USA.
Javier MenasalvasJoint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, California, USA.
Aaron A VilchezJoint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, California, USA.
Matthew R InchaJoint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, California, USA.
Matthias SchmidtJoint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, California, USA.
Aindrila MukhopadhyayJoint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, California, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-6513-7425
Adam M DeutschbauerDepartment of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA.
Mitchell G ThompsonJoint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, California, USA.
Patrick M ShihJoint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, California, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-2119-3345
Jay D KeaslingJoint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, California, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-4170-6088

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Dicarboxylic acids are key components of many polymers and plastics, making them a target for both engineered microbial degradation and sustainable bioproduction. In this study, we generated a comprehensive data set of functional evidence for the genetic basis of dicarboxylic and fatty acid metabolism using randomly barcoded transposon sequencing (RB-TnSeq). We identified four β-proteobacteria that displayed robust growth with dicarboxylic acid sole carbon source and cultured their mutant libraries with dicarboxylic and fatty acids with carbon chain lengths from C3 to C12. The resulting fitness data suggested that dicarboxylic and fatty acid metabolisms are largely distinct, and different sets of β-oxidation genes are required for catabolizing dicarboxylic versus fatty acids of the same carbon chain lengths. In addition, we identified transcriptional regulators and transporters with strong fitness phenotypes related to dicarboxylic acid utilization. In IMPORTANCE: Upcycling the carbon in plastic wastes to value-added products is a promising approach to address the plastic waste and climate crises, and dicarboxylic acid metabolism is an important facet of several approaches. Improving our understanding of the genetic basis of this metabolism has the potential to uncover new enzymes and genetic parts for engineered pathways involving dicarboxylic acids. Our data set is the most comprehensive interrogation of dicarboxylic acid catabolism to date, and this work will be of utility to researchers interested in both plastics bioproduction and upcycling applications.

Indexed as

BetaproteobacteriaDicarboxylic AcidsPlasticsBacterial ProteinsDNA Transposable ElementsFatty AcidsBacterial ProteinsDicarboxylic AcidsDNA Transposable ElementsFatty AcidsPlasticsdicarboxylic acidsfunctional genomicsplastics upcyling

Identifiers

PMID40981468
PMCPMC12543098

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.