Methods and compositions useful for the production of 4-vinylphenol

A genetically modified host cell capable of producing a 4-vinylphenol (4VP) and/or 4-vinylguaiacol (4VG) comprising:

• a polypeptide having a phenolic acid decarboxylase (PAD) enzymatic activity wherein the polypeptide is capable of converting p-coumaric (CA) and/or ferulic acid (FA) into 4-vinylphenol (4VP) and/or 4-vinylguaiacol (4VG), comprising:
• (i) an amino acid sequence having at least about 70% amino acid sequence identity with SEQ ID NO:1;
• and, (ii) one or more of the following conserved amino acid residues:
• N at amino acid position 160, SEQ ID NO:2 at amino acid residue positions 160-165, QH at amino acid residue positions 181-182, H at amino acid position 182, E at amino acid position 224, and/or E at amino acid position 273;
• wherein the host cell is capable of growth on pretreated lignocellulosic hydrolysate as a carbon source, and the host cell is deleted or knocked out for expression of endogenous pta, poxB, and/or ackA genes.