Identification and characterisation of gallic acid decarboxylase (Agdc1p) and catechol 1 2 dioxygenase (Acdo1p) and their role in the degradation of Tannic Acid in the Yeast Blastobotrys (Arxula) adeninivorans Phenolics and its derivatives are aromatic compounds with a wide range of industrial applications. Gallic acid protocatechuic acid catechol or pyrogallol are only a few examples of industrially relevant aromatics. The production of bulk fine chemicals primarily for chemical and pharmaceutical industry has put a strong emphasis on optimizing manufacturing conditions. Commercial production of many chemicals is still based on organic chemical synthesis using petroleum derivatives as starting material. Since these processes are considered environmentally unfriendly and posing an irresponsible strain on limited fossil resources much attention is paid to the development of new microbial factories for the bioproduction of industrially relevant chemicals using renewable sources or organic pollutants as starting material. Arxula adeninivoras is a non conventional yeast possessing attractive properties for industrial application such as thermo and osmotolerance. Another major advantage of this organism is its broad substrate spectrum with tannin at the forefront. The present project is dedicated to the study of the tannic acid degradation pathway in A. adeninivorans. Two genes encoding enzymes annotated as gallic acid decarboxylase (AGDC1) and catechol 1 2 dioxygenase (ACDO1) have been selected and investigated. Both enzymes were characterized and their function in tannin catabolism analyzed. Arxula adeninivoras catechol 1 2 dioxygenase (ACDO1) gallic acid decarboxylase (AGDC1) tannic acid degradation pathway tannin catabolism