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Niu L, Liu L, Zhang J, Scali M, Wang W, Hu X, Wu X. Genetic Engineering of Starch Biosynthesis in Maize Seeds for Efficient Enzymatic Digestion of Starch during Bioethanol Production. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24043927. [PMID: 36835340 PMCID: PMC9967003 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24043927] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2022] [Revised: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Maize accumulates large amounts of starch in seeds which have been used as food for human and animals. Maize starch is an importantly industrial raw material for bioethanol production. One critical step in bioethanol production is degrading starch to oligosaccharides and glucose by α-amylase and glucoamylase. This step usually requires high temperature and additional equipment, leading to an increased production cost. Currently, there remains a lack of specially designed maize cultivars with optimized starch (amylose and amylopectin) compositions for bioethanol production. We discussed the features of starch granules suitable for efficient enzymatic digestion. Thus far, great advances have been made in molecular characterization of the key proteins involved in starch metabolism in maize seeds. The review explores how these proteins affect starch metabolism pathway, especially in controlling the composition, size and features of starch. We highlight the roles of key enzymes in controlling amylose/amylopectin ratio and granules architecture. Based on current technological process of bioethanol production using maize starch, we propose that several key enzymes can be modified in abundance or activities via genetic engineering to synthesize easily degraded starch granules in maize seeds. The review provides a clue for developing special maize cultivars as raw material in the bioethanol industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liangjie Niu
- National Key Laboratory of Wheat and Maize Crop Science, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China
- College of Life Sciences, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China
| | - Liangwei Liu
- College of Life Sciences, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China
- Key Laboratory of Enzyme Engineering of Agricultural Microbiology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China
| | - Jinghua Zhang
- National Key Laboratory of Wheat and Maize Crop Science, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China
- College of Life Sciences, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China
| | - Monica Scali
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Wei Wang
- National Key Laboratory of Wheat and Maize Crop Science, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China
- College of Life Sciences, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China
- Correspondence:
| | - Xiuli Hu
- National Key Laboratory of Wheat and Maize Crop Science, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China
- College of Life Sciences, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China
| | - Xiaolin Wu
- National Key Laboratory of Wheat and Maize Crop Science, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China
- College of Life Sciences, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China
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Recent advances in molecular farming using monocot plants. Biotechnol Adv 2022; 58:107913. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2022.107913] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2021] [Revised: 01/13/2022] [Accepted: 01/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
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The maize α-zein promoter can be utilized as a strong inducer of cellulase enzyme expression in maize kernels. Transgenic Res 2019; 28:537-547. [PMID: 31264021 DOI: 10.1007/s11248-019-00162-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2017] [Accepted: 06/26/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Expression of recombinant proteins in plants is a technology for producing vaccines, pharmaceuticals and industrial enzymes. For the past several years, we have produced recombinant proteins in maize kernels using only the embryo, primarily driving expression of foreign genes with the maize globulin-1 promoter. Although strong expression is obtained, these lines use only 10-12% of the seed tissue. If strong embryo expression could be combined with strong endosperm expression, much more recombinant protein could be recovered from a set amount of seed biomass. In this study, we tested three endosperm promoters for expression of a cellulase gene. Promoters tested were rice globulin and glutelin promoters and a maize 19 kDa α-zein promoter. The rice promoters were used in two tandem expression constructs as well. Although the rice promoters were active in producing stable amounts of cellulase, the α-zein promoter was by far the most effective: as much as 9% of total soluble protein was recovered from seed of several independent events and plants. One or two inserts were detected by Southern blot in several lines, indicating that copy number did not appear to be responsible for the differences in protein accumulation. Tissue print analysis indicated that expression was primarily in the endosperm.
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Ligaba-Osena A, Jones J, Donkor E, Chandrayan S, Pole F, Wu CH, Vieille C, Adams MWW, Hankoua BB. Novel Bioengineered Cassava Expressing an Archaeal Starch Degradation System and a Bacterial ADP-Glucose Pyrophosphorylase for Starch Self-Digestibility and Yield Increase. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2018; 9:192. [PMID: 29541080 PMCID: PMC5836596 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2018.00192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2017] [Accepted: 02/01/2018] [Indexed: 11/06/2023]
Abstract
To address national and global low-carbon fuel targets, there is great interest in alternative plant species such as cassava (Manihot esculenta), which are high-yielding, resilient, and are easily converted to fuels using the existing technology. In this study the genes encoding hyperthermophilic archaeal starch-hydrolyzing enzymes, α-amylase and amylopullulanase from Pyrococcus furiosus and glucoamylase from Sulfolobus solfataricus, together with the gene encoding a modified ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (glgC) from Escherichia coli, were simultaneously expressed in cassava roots to enhance starch accumulation and its subsequent hydrolysis to sugar. A total of 13 multigene expressing transgenic lines were generated and characterized phenotypically and genotypically. Gene expression analysis using quantitative RT-PCR showed that the microbial genes are expressed in the transgenic roots. Multigene-expressing transgenic lines produced up to 60% more storage root yield than the non-transgenic control, likely due to glgC expression. Total protein extracted from the transgenic roots showed up to 10-fold higher starch-degrading activity in vitro than the protein extracted from the non-transgenic control. Interestingly, transgenic tubers released threefold more glucose than the non-transgenic control when incubated at 85°C for 21-h without exogenous application of thermostable enzymes, suggesting that the archaeal enzymes produced in planta maintain their activity and thermostability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayalew Ligaba-Osena
- College of Agriculture and Related Sciences, Delaware State University, Dover, DE, United States
| | - Jenna Jones
- College of Agriculture and Related Sciences, Delaware State University, Dover, DE, United States
| | - Emmanuel Donkor
- College of Agriculture and Related Sciences, Delaware State University, Dover, DE, United States
| | - Sanjeev Chandrayan
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| | - Farris Pole
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| | - Chang-Hao Wu
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| | - Claire Vieille
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
| | - Michael W. W. Adams
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| | - Bertrand B. Hankoua
- College of Agriculture and Related Sciences, Delaware State University, Dover, DE, United States
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