Metabolic Engineering for the Comprehensive Utilization of N , N -Dimethylformamide-Containing Wastewater.

N , N -dimethylformamide is frequently present in industrial wastewater and is environmentally detrimental. The current study aims to assess the utilization and biodegradation of N , N -dimethylformamide-containing wastewater to lessen the associated environmental load. Results show that addition of wastewater containing N , N -dimethylformamide to Trichoderma reesei fermentation media enhances cellulase production and facilitates cellulose hydrolysis. However, N , N -dimethylformamide is a cellulase enhancer that is not degraded during cellulase production in T. reesei fermentation and is retained in the N , N -dimethylformamide-enhanced cellulase solution. Indeed, the cellulosic sugar solution generated via lignocellulose hydrolysis with N , N -dimethylformamide-enhanced cellulase retains N , N -dimethylformamide. We further identified three core enzyme modules─ N , N -dimethylformamidase, dimethylamine dehydrogenase, and methylamine dehydrogenase enzyme─which were inserted into Escherichia coli to develop metabolically engineered strains. These strains degraded N , N -dimethylformamide and produced succinate using N , N -dimethylformamide-enhanced cellulosic sugar as the substrate. The platform described here can be applied to effectively convert waste into valuable bioproducts.