Polymer Chemistry Commons^™

Lignin Degradation In Wood-Feeding Insects, Scott M. Geib, Timothy R. Filley, Patrick G. Hatcher, Kelli Hoover, John E. Carlson, Maria Del Mar Jimenez-Gasco, Akiko Nakagawa-Izumi, Rachel L. Sleighter, Ming Tien

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The aromatic polymer lignin protects plants from most forms of microbial attack. Despite the fact that a significant fraction of all lignocellulose degraded passes through arthropod guts, the fate of lignin in these systems is not known. Using tetramethylammonium hydroxide thermochemolysis, we show lignin degradation by two insect species, the Asian longhorned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) and the Pacific dampwood termite (Zootermopsis angusticollis). In both the beetle and termite, significant levels of propyl side-chain oxidation (depolymerization) and demethylation of ring methoxyl groups is detected; for the termite, ring hydroxylation is also observed. In addition, culture-independent fungal gut …