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Liu M, Liu H, Zhang J, Li C, Li Y, Yang G, Xia T, Huang H, Xu Y, Kong W, Hou B, Qi X, Wang J. Knockout of CAFFEOYL-COA 3-O-METHYLTRANSFERASE 6/6L enhances the S/G ratio of lignin monomers and disease resistance in Nicotiana tabacum. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1216702. [PMID: 37868314 PMCID: PMC10585270 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1216702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 09/13/2023] [Indexed: 10/24/2023]
Abstract
Background Nicotiana tabacum is an important economic crop, which is widely planted in the world. Lignin is very important for maintaining the physiological and stress-resistant functions of tobacco. However, higher lignin content will produce lignin gas, which is not conducive to the formation of tobacco quality. To date, how to precisely fine-tune lignin content or composition remains unclear. Results Here, we annotated and screened 14 CCoAOMTs in Nicotiana tabacum and obtained homozygous double mutants of CCoAOMT6 and CCoAOMT6L through CRSIPR/Cas9 technology. The phenotype showed that the double mutants have better growth than the wild type whereas the S/G ratio increased and the total sugar decreased. Resistance against the pathogen test and the extract inhibition test showed that the transgenic tobacco has stronger resistance to tobacco bacterial wilt and brown spot disease, which are infected by Ralstonia solanacearum and Alternaria alternata, respectively. The combined analysis of metabolome and transcriptome in the leaves and roots suggested that the changes of phenylpropane and terpene metabolism are mainly responsible for these phenotypes. Furthermore, the molecular docking indicated that the upregulated metabolites, such as soyasaponin Bb, improve the disease resistance due to highly stable binding with tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase targets in Ralstonia solanacearum and Alternaria alternata. Conclusions CAFFEOYL-COA 3-O-METHYLTRANSFERASE 6/6L can regulate the S/G ratio of lignin monomers and may affect tobacco bacterial wilt and brown spot disease resistance by disturbing phenylpropane and terpene metabolism in leaves and roots of Nicotiana tabacum, such as soyasaponin Bb.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingxin Liu
- Research and Development of Center, China Tobacco Yunnan Industrial Co., Ltd., Kunming, China
- School of Ethnic Medicine, Yunnan Minzu University, Kunming, China
| | - Huayin Liu
- Research and Development of Center, China Tobacco Yunnan Industrial Co., Ltd., Kunming, China
- Technology Center, China Tobacco Yunnan Industrial Co., Ltd., Kunming, China
| | - Jianduo Zhang
- Research and Development of Center, China Tobacco Yunnan Industrial Co., Ltd., Kunming, China
| | - Cui Li
- Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Physiology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yinke Li
- School of Ethnic Medicine, Yunnan Minzu University, Kunming, China
| | - Guangyu Yang
- Research and Development of Center, China Tobacco Yunnan Industrial Co., Ltd., Kunming, China
| | - Tong Xia
- Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Physiology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Haitao Huang
- Research and Development of Center, China Tobacco Yunnan Industrial Co., Ltd., Kunming, China
| | - Yong Xu
- Research and Development of Center, China Tobacco Yunnan Industrial Co., Ltd., Kunming, China
| | - Weisong Kong
- Research and Development of Center, China Tobacco Yunnan Industrial Co., Ltd., Kunming, China
| | - Bingzhu Hou
- Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Physiology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaoquan Qi
- Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Physiology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jin Wang
- Research and Development of Center, China Tobacco Yunnan Industrial Co., Ltd., Kunming, China
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Eudes A, Lin CY, De Ben C, Ortega J, Lee MY, Chen YC, Li G, Putnam DH, Mortimer JC, Ronald PC, Scown CD, Scheller HV. Field performance of switchgrass plants engineered for reduced recalcitrance. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1181035. [PMID: 37324714 PMCID: PMC10266223 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1181035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is a promising perennial bioenergy crop that achieves high yields with relatively low nutrient and energy inputs. Modification of cell wall composition for reduced recalcitrance can lower the costs of deconstructing biomass to fermentable sugars and other intermediates. We have engineered overexpression of OsAT10, encoding a rice BAHD acyltransferase and QsuB, encoding dehydroshikimate dehydratase from Corynebacterium glutamicum, to enhance saccharification efficiency in switchgrass. These engineering strategies demonstrated low lignin content, low ferulic acid esters, and increased saccharification yield during greenhouse studies in switchgrass and other plant species. In this work, transgenic switchgrass plants overexpressing either OsAT10 or QsuB were tested in the field in Davis, California, USA for three growing seasons. No significant differences in the content of lignin and cell wall-bound p-coumaric acid or ferulic acid were detected in transgenic OsAT10 lines compared with the untransformed Alamo control variety. However, the transgenic overexpressing QsuB lines had increased biomass yield and slightly increased biomass saccharification properties compared to the control plants. This work demonstrates good performance of engineered plants in the field, and also shows that the cell wall changes in the greenhouse were not replicated in the field, emphasizing the need to validate engineered plants under relevant field conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aymerick Eudes
- Feedstocks and Life-Cycle, Economics and Agronomy Divisions, Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, United States
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Chien-Yuan Lin
- Feedstocks and Life-Cycle, Economics and Agronomy Divisions, Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, United States
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Christopher De Ben
- Feedstocks and Life-Cycle, Economics and Agronomy Divisions, Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, United States
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Jasmine Ortega
- Feedstocks and Life-Cycle, Economics and Agronomy Divisions, Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, United States
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Mi Yeon Lee
- Feedstocks and Life-Cycle, Economics and Agronomy Divisions, Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, United States
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Yi-Chun Chen
- Feedstocks and Life-Cycle, Economics and Agronomy Divisions, Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, United States
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Guotian Li
- Feedstocks and Life-Cycle, Economics and Agronomy Divisions, Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, United States
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, United States
- Department of Plant Pathology and the Genome Center, University of California, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Daniel H. Putnam
- Feedstocks and Life-Cycle, Economics and Agronomy Divisions, Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, United States
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Jenny C. Mortimer
- Feedstocks and Life-Cycle, Economics and Agronomy Divisions, Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, United States
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, United States
- School of Agriculture, Food and Wine & Waite Research Institute, University of Adelaide, Glen Osmond, SA, Australia
| | - Pamela C. Ronald
- Feedstocks and Life-Cycle, Economics and Agronomy Divisions, Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, United States
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, United States
- Department of Plant Pathology and the Genome Center, University of California, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Corinne D. Scown
- Feedstocks and Life-Cycle, Economics and Agronomy Divisions, Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, United States
- Energy Analysis and Environmental Impacts Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, United States
- Energy & Biosciences Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Henrik V. Scheller
- Feedstocks and Life-Cycle, Economics and Agronomy Divisions, Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, United States
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, United States
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
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3
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Barros J, Shrestha HK, Serrani-Yarce JC, Engle NL, Abraham PE, Tschaplinski TJ, Hettich RL, Dixon RA. Proteomic and metabolic disturbances in lignin-modified Brachypodium distachyon. THE PLANT CELL 2022; 34:3339-3363. [PMID: 35670759 PMCID: PMC9421481 DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koac171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2022] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Lignin biosynthesis begins with the deamination of phenylalanine and tyrosine (Tyr) as a key branch point between primary and secondary metabolism in land plants. Here, we used a systems biology approach to investigate the global metabolic responses to lignin pathway perturbations in the model grass Brachypodium distachyon. We identified the lignin biosynthetic protein families and found that ammonia-lyases (ALs) are among the most abundant proteins in lignifying tissues in grasses. Integrated metabolomic and proteomic data support a link between lignin biosynthesis and primary metabolism mediated by the ammonia released from ALs that is recycled for the synthesis of amino acids via glutamine. RNA interference knockdown of lignin genes confirmed that the route of the canonical pathway using shikimate ester intermediates is not essential for lignin formation in Brachypodium, and there is an alternative pathway from Tyr via sinapic acid for the synthesis of syringyl lignin involving yet uncharacterized enzymatic steps. Our findings support a model in which plant ALs play a central role in coordinating the allocation of carbon for lignin synthesis and the nitrogen available for plant growth. Collectively, these data also emphasize the value of integrative multiomic analyses to advance our understanding of plant metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Him K Shrestha
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830, USA
- Genome Science and Technology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37916, USA
| | - Juan C Serrani-Yarce
- BioDiscovery Institute and Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas 76201, USA
| | - Nancy L Engle
- BioDiscovery Institute and Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas 76201, USA
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830, USA
| | - Paul E Abraham
- Center for Bioenergy Innovation (CBI), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830, USA
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830, USA
| | - Timothy J Tschaplinski
- Center for Bioenergy Innovation (CBI), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830, USA
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830, USA
| | - Robert L Hettich
- Center for Bioenergy Innovation (CBI), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830, USA
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830, USA
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Tiedge K, Destremps J, Solano-Sanchez J, Arce-Rodriguez ML, Zerbe P. Foxtail mosaic virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) in switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.). PLANT METHODS 2022; 18:71. [PMID: 35644680 PMCID: PMC9150325 DOI: 10.1186/s13007-022-00903-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2022] [Accepted: 05/07/2022] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Although the genome for the allotetraploid bioenergy crop switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) has been established, limitations in mutant resources have hampered in planta gene function studies toward crop optimization. Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) is a versatile technique for transient genetic studies. Here we report the implementation of foxtail mosaic virus (FoMV)-mediated gene silencing in switchgrass in above- and below-ground tissues and at different developmental stages. RESULTS The study demonstrated that leaf rub-inoculation is a suitable method for systemic gene silencing in switchgrass. For all three visual marker genes, Magnesium chelatase subunit D (ChlD) and I (ChlI) as well as phytoene desaturase (PDS), phenotypic changes were observed in leaves, albeit at different intensities. Gene silencing efficiency was verified by RT-PCR for all tested genes. Notably, systemic gene silencing was also observed in roots, although silencing efficiency was stronger in leaves (~ 63-94%) as compared to roots (~ 48-78%). Plants at a later developmental stage were moderately less amenable to VIGS than younger plants, but also less perturbed by the viral infection. CONCLUSIONS Using FoMV-mediated VIGS could be achieved in switchgrass leaves and roots, providing an alternative approach for studying gene functions and physiological traits in this important bioenergy crop.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kira Tiedge
- Department of Plant Biology, University of California, Davis, USA.
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
| | | | | | | | - Philipp Zerbe
- Department of Plant Biology, University of California, Davis, USA
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Muguerza MB, Gondo T, Ishigaki G, Shimamoto Y, Umami N, Nitthaisong P, Rahman MM, Akashi R. Tissue Culture and Somatic Embryogenesis in Warm-Season Grasses—Current Status and Its Applications: A Review. PLANTS 2022; 11:plants11091263. [PMID: 35567264 PMCID: PMC9101205 DOI: 10.3390/plants11091263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2022] [Revised: 05/02/2022] [Accepted: 05/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Warm-season grasses are C4 plants and have a high capacity for biomass productivity. These grasses are utilized in many agricultural production systems with their greatest value as feeds for livestock, bioethanol, and turf. However, many important warm-season perennial grasses multiply either by vegetative propagation or form their seeds by an asexual mode of reproduction called apomixis. Therefore, the improvement of these grasses by conventional breeding is difficult and is dependent on the availability of natural genetic variation and its manipulation through breeding and selection. Recent studies have indicated that plant tissue culture system through somatic embryogenesis complements and could further develop conventional breeding programs by micropropagation, somaclonal variation, somatic hybridization, genetic transformation, and genome editing. This review summarizes the tissue culture and somatic embryogenesis in warm-season grasses and focus on current status and above applications including the author’s progress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melody Ballitoc Muguerza
- Faculty of Agriculture, University of Miyazaki, 1-1 Gakuenkibanadai-Nishi, Miyazaki 889-2192, Japan; (M.B.M.); (G.I.); (Y.S.); (R.A.)
| | - Takahiro Gondo
- Frontier Science Research Center, University of Miyazaki, 1-1 Gakuenkibanadai-Nishi, Miyazaki 889-2192, Japan
- Correspondence:
| | - Genki Ishigaki
- Faculty of Agriculture, University of Miyazaki, 1-1 Gakuenkibanadai-Nishi, Miyazaki 889-2192, Japan; (M.B.M.); (G.I.); (Y.S.); (R.A.)
| | - Yasuyo Shimamoto
- Faculty of Agriculture, University of Miyazaki, 1-1 Gakuenkibanadai-Nishi, Miyazaki 889-2192, Japan; (M.B.M.); (G.I.); (Y.S.); (R.A.)
| | - Nafiatul Umami
- Faculty of Animal Science, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Jl Fauna 3, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia;
| | - Pattama Nitthaisong
- Faculty of Agricultural Technology, King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Bangkok 10520, Thailand;
| | - Mohammad Mijanur Rahman
- Faculty of Agro-Based Industry, Jeli Campus, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Jeli 17600, Kelantan, Malaysia;
| | - Ryo Akashi
- Faculty of Agriculture, University of Miyazaki, 1-1 Gakuenkibanadai-Nishi, Miyazaki 889-2192, Japan; (M.B.M.); (G.I.); (Y.S.); (R.A.)
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Serrani-Yarce JC, Escamilla-Trevino L, Barros J, Gallego-Giraldo L, Pu Y, Ragauskas A, Dixon RA. Targeting hydroxycinnamoyl CoA: shikimate hydroxycinnamoyl transferase for lignin modification in Brachypodium distachyon. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS 2021; 14:50. [PMID: 33640016 PMCID: PMC7913460 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-021-01905-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2020] [Accepted: 02/16/2021] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hydroxycinnamoyl CoA: shikimate hydroxycinnamoyl transferase (HCT) is a central enzyme of the so-called "esters" pathway to monolignols. As originally envisioned, HCT functions twice in this pathway, to form coumaroyl shikimate and then, in the "reverse" direction, to convert caffeoyl shikimate to caffeoyl CoA. The discovery of a caffeoyl shikimate esterase (CSE) that forms caffeic acid directly from caffeoyl shikimate calls into question the need for the reverse HCT reaction in lignin biosynthesis. Loss of function of HCT gives severe growth phenotypes in several dicot plants, but less so in some monocots, questioning whether this enzyme, and therefore the shikimate shunt, plays the same role in both monocots and dicots. The model grass Brachypodium distachyon has two HCT genes, but lacks a classical CSE gene. This study was therefore conducted to evaluate the utility of HCT as a target for lignin modification in a species with an "incomplete" shikimate shunt. RESULTS The kinetic properties of recombinant B. distachyon HCTs were compared with those from Arabidopsis thaliana, Medicago truncatula, and Panicum virgatum (switchgrass) for both the forward and reverse reactions. Along with two M. truncatula HCTs, B. distachyon HCT2 had the least kinetically unfavorable reverse HCT reaction, and this enzyme is induced when HCT1 is down-regulated. Down regulation of B. distachyon HCT1, or co-down-regulation of HCT1 and HCT2, by RNA interference led to reduced lignin levels, with only modest changes in lignin composition and molecular weight. CONCLUSIONS Down-regulation of HCT1, or co-down-regulation of both HCT genes, in B. distachyon results in less extensive changes in lignin content/composition and cell wall structure than observed following HCT down-regulation in dicots, with little negative impact on biomass yield. Nevertheless, HCT down-regulation leads to significant improvements in biomass saccharification efficiency, making this gene a preferred target for biotechnological improvement of grasses for bioprocessing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Carlos Serrani-Yarce
- BioDiscovery Institute and Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Texas, Denton, 76203 TX, USA
- BioEnergy Science Center (BESC), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
| | - Luis Escamilla-Trevino
- BioDiscovery Institute and Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Texas, Denton, 76203 TX, USA
- BioEnergy Science Center (BESC), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
| | - Jaime Barros
- BioDiscovery Institute and Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Texas, Denton, 76203 TX, USA
- Center for Bioenergy Innovation (CBI), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
| | - Lina Gallego-Giraldo
- BioDiscovery Institute and Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Texas, Denton, 76203 TX, USA
| | - Yunqiao Pu
- BioEnergy Science Center (BESC), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
- Center for Bioenergy Innovation (CBI), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
- UT-ORNL Joint Institute for Biological Sciences, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
| | - Art Ragauskas
- BioEnergy Science Center (BESC), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
- Center for Bioenergy Innovation (CBI), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
- UT-ORNL Joint Institute for Biological Sciences, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
| | - Richard A Dixon
- BioDiscovery Institute and Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Texas, Denton, 76203 TX, USA.
- BioEnergy Science Center (BESC), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA.
- Center for Bioenergy Innovation (CBI), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA.
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Hao Z, Yogiswara S, Wei T, Benites VT, Sinha A, Wang G, Baidoo EEK, Ronald PC, Scheller HV, Loqué D, Eudes A. Expression of a bacterial 3-dehydroshikimate dehydratase (QsuB) reduces lignin and improves biomass saccharification efficiency in switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.). BMC PLANT BIOLOGY 2021; 21:56. [PMID: 33478381 PMCID: PMC7819203 DOI: 10.1186/s12870-021-02842-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2020] [Accepted: 01/13/2021] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Lignin deposited in plant cell walls negatively affects biomass conversion into advanced bioproducts. There is therefore a strong interest in developing bioenergy crops with reduced lignin content or altered lignin structures. Another desired trait for bioenergy crops is the ability to accumulate novel bioproducts, which would enhance the development of economically sustainable biorefineries. As previously demonstrated in the model plant Arabidopsis, expression of a 3-dehydroshikimate dehydratase in plants offers the potential for decreasing lignin content and overproducing a value-added metabolic coproduct (i.e., protocatechuate) suitable for biological upgrading. RESULTS The 3-dehydroshikimate dehydratase QsuB from Corynebacterium glutamicum was expressed in the bioenergy crop switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) using the stem-specific promoter of an O-methyltransferase gene (pShOMT) from sugarcane. The activity of pShOMT was validated in switchgrass after observation in-situ of beta-glucuronidase (GUS) activity in stem nodes of plants carrying a pShOMT::GUS fusion construct. Under controlled growth conditions, engineered switchgrass lines containing a pShOMT::QsuB construct showed reductions of lignin content, improvements of biomass saccharification efficiency, and accumulated higher amount of protocatechuate compared to control plants. Attempts to generate transgenic switchgrass lines carrying the QsuB gene under the control of the constitutive promoter pZmUbi-1 were unsuccessful, suggesting possible toxicity issues associated with ectopic QsuB expression during the plant regeneration process. CONCLUSION This study validates the transfer of the QsuB engineering approach from a model plant to switchgrass. We have demonstrated altered expression of two important traits: lignin content and accumulation of a co-product. We found that the choice of promoter to drive QsuB expression should be carefully considered when deploying this strategy to other bioenergy crops. Field-testing of engineered QsuB switchgrass are in progress to assess the performance of the introduced traits and agronomic performances of the transgenic plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhangying Hao
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA 94608 USA
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
| | - Sasha Yogiswara
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA 94608 USA
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
| | - Tong Wei
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA 94608 USA
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
- Department of Plant Pathology and the Genome Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616 USA
- Present address: State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genomics, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, 518000 China
| | - Veronica Teixeira Benites
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA 94608 USA
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
| | - Anagh Sinha
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA 94608 USA
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
| | - George Wang
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA 94608 USA
- Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
| | - Edward E. K. Baidoo
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA 94608 USA
- Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
| | - Pamela C. Ronald
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA 94608 USA
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
- Department of Plant Pathology and the Genome Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616 USA
| | - Henrik V. Scheller
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA 94608 USA
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
| | - Dominique Loqué
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA 94608 USA
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
| | - Aymerick Eudes
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA 94608 USA
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
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8
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Tahir N, Tahir MN, Alam M, Yi W, Zhang Q. Exploring the prospective of weeds ( Cannabis sativa L. , Parthenium hysterophorus L.) for biofuel production through nanocatalytic (Co, Ni) gasification. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS 2020; 13:148. [PMID: 32843897 PMCID: PMC7441714 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-020-01785-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2020] [Accepted: 08/08/2020] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND While keeping in view various aspects of energy demand, quest for the renewable energy sources is utmost. Biomass has shown great potential as green energy source with supply of approximately 14% of world total energy demand, and great source of carbon capture. It is abundant in various forms including agricultural, forestry residues, and unwanted plants (weeds). The rapid growth of weeds not only affects the yield of the crop, but also has strong consequences on the environment. These weeds can grow with minimum nutrient input requirements, have strong ability to grow at various soil and climate environments with high value of cellulose, thus can be valuable source of energy production. RESULTS Parthenium hysterophorus L. and Cannabis sativa L. have been employed for the production of biofuels (biogas, biodiesel and biochar) through nano-catalytic gasification by employing Co and Ni as nanocatalysts. Nanocatalysts were synthesized through well-established sol-gel method. SEM study confirms the spherical morphology of the nanocatalysts with size distribution of 20-50 nm. XRD measurements reveal that fabricated nanocatalysts have pure standard crystal structure without impurity. During gasification of Cannabis sativa L., we have extracted the 53.33% of oil, 34.66% of biochar and 12% gas whereas in the case of Parthenium hysterophorus L. 44% oil, 38.36% biochar and 17.66% of gas was measured. Electrical conductivity in biochar of Cannabis sativa L. and Parthenium hysterophorus L. was observed 0.4 dSm-1 and 0.39 dSm-1, respectively. CONCLUSION Present study presents the conversion of unwanted plants Parthenium hysterophorus L. and Cannabis sativa L. weeds to biofuels. Nanocatalysts help to enhance the conversion of biomass to biofuel due to large surface reactivity. Our findings suggest potential utilization of unwanted plants for biofuel production, which can help to share the burden of energy demand. Biochar produced during gasification can replace chemical fertilizers for soil remediation and to enhance the crop productivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadeem Tahir
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Biomass Energy, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450002 China
| | - Muhammad Naveed Tahir
- Department of Agronomy, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, Rawalpindi, 46300 Pakistan
| | - Mujeeb Alam
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Biomass Energy, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450002 China
- Department of Agronomy, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, Rawalpindi, 46300 Pakistan
| | - Wang Yi
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Biomass Energy, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450002 China
| | - Quangou Zhang
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Biomass Energy, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450002 China
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Mazarei M, Baxter HL, Srivastava A, Li G, Xie H, Dumitrache A, Rodriguez M, Natzke JM, Zhang JY, Turner GB, Sykes RW, Davis MF, Udvardi MK, Wang ZY, Davison BH, Blancaflor EB, Tang Y, Stewart CN. Silencing Folylpolyglutamate Synthetase1 ( FPGS1) in Switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum L.) Improves Lignocellulosic Biofuel Production. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2020; 11:843. [PMID: 32636863 PMCID: PMC7317012 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2020.00843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2020] [Accepted: 05/26/2020] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is a lignocellulosic perennial grass with great potential in bioenergy field. Lignocellulosic bioenergy crops are mostly resistant to cell wall deconstruction, and therefore yield suboptimal levels of biofuel. The one-carbon pathway (also known as C1 metabolism) is critical for polymer methylation, including that of lignin and hemicelluloses in cell walls. Folylpolyglutamate synthetase (FPGS) catalyzes a biochemical reaction that leads to the formation of folylpolyglutamate, an important cofactor for many enzymes in the C1 pathway. In this study, the putatively novel switchgrass PvFPGS1 gene was identified and its functional role in cell wall composition and biofuel production was examined by RNAi knockdown analysis. The PvFPGS1-downregulated plants were analyzed in the field over three growing seasons. Transgenic plants with the highest reduction in PvFPGS1 expression grew slower and produced lower end-of-season biomass. Transgenic plants with low-to-moderate reduction in PvFPGS1 transcript levels produced equivalent biomass as controls. There were no significant differences observed for lignin content and syringyl/guaiacyl lignin monomer ratio in the low-to-moderately reduced PvFPGS1 transgenic lines compared with the controls. Similarly, sugar release efficiency was also not significantly different in these transgenic lines compared with the control lines. However, transgenic plants produced up to 18% more ethanol while maintaining congruent growth and biomass as non-transgenic controls. Severity of rust disease among transgenic and control lines were not different during the time course of the field experiments. Altogether, the unchanged lignin content and composition in the low-to-moderate PvFPGS1-downregulated lines may suggest that partial downregulation of PvFPGS1 expression did not impact lignin biosynthesis in switchgrass. In conclusion, the manipulation of PvFPGS1 expression in bioenergy crops may be useful to increase biofuel potential with no growth penalty or increased susceptibility to rust in feedstock.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mitra Mazarei
- Department of Plant Sciences, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States
- BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
- The Center for Bioenergy Innovation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
| | - Holly L. Baxter
- Department of Plant Sciences, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States
- BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
| | - Avinash Srivastava
- BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
- Noble Research Institute, Ardmore, OK, United States
| | - Guifen Li
- BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
- Noble Research Institute, Ardmore, OK, United States
| | - Hongli Xie
- BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
- Noble Research Institute, Ardmore, OK, United States
| | - Alexandru Dumitrache
- BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
| | - Miguel Rodriguez
- BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
- The Center for Bioenergy Innovation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
| | - Jace M. Natzke
- BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
| | - Ji-Yi Zhang
- BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
- Noble Research Institute, Ardmore, OK, United States
| | - Geoffrey B. Turner
- BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO, United States
| | - Robert W. Sykes
- BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO, United States
| | - Mark F. Davis
- BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
- The Center for Bioenergy Innovation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO, United States
| | - Michael K. Udvardi
- BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
- The Center for Bioenergy Innovation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
- Noble Research Institute, Ardmore, OK, United States
| | - Zeng-Yu Wang
- BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
- Noble Research Institute, Ardmore, OK, United States
| | - Brian H. Davison
- BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
- The Center for Bioenergy Innovation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
| | - Elison B. Blancaflor
- BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
- Noble Research Institute, Ardmore, OK, United States
| | - Yuhong Tang
- BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
- Noble Research Institute, Ardmore, OK, United States
- *Correspondence: Yuhong Tang,
| | - Charles Neal Stewart
- Department of Plant Sciences, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States
- BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
- The Center for Bioenergy Innovation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
- Charles Neal Stewart Jr.,
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10
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Ondzighi-Assoume CA, Willis JD, Ouma WK, Allen SM, King Z, Parrott WA, Liu W, Burris JN, Lenaghan SC, Stewart CN. Embryogenic cell suspensions for high-capacity genetic transformation and regeneration of switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum L.). BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS 2019; 12:290. [PMID: 31890018 PMCID: PMC6913013 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-019-1632-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2019] [Accepted: 12/07/2019] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), a North American prairie grassland species, is a potential lignocellulosic biofuel feedstock owing to its wide adaptability and biomass production. Production and genetic manipulation of switchgrass should be useful to improve its biomass composition and production for bioenergy applications. The goal of this project was to develop a high-throughput stable switchgrass transformation method using Agrobacterium tumefaciens with subsequent plant regeneration. RESULTS Regenerable embryogenic cell suspension cultures were established from friable type II callus-derived inflorescences using two genotypes selected from the synthetic switchgrass variety 'Performer' tissue culture lines 32 and 605. The cell suspension cultures were composed of a heterogeneous fine mixture culture of single cells and aggregates. Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain GV3101 was optimum to transfer into cells the pANIC-10A vector with a hygromycin-selectable marker gene and a pporRFP orange fluorescent protein marker gene at an 85% transformation efficiency. Liquid cultures gave rise to embryogenic callus and then shoots, of which up to 94% formed roots. The resulting transgenic plants were phenotypically indistinguishable from the non-transgenic parent lines. CONCLUSION The new cell suspension-based protocol enables high-throughput Agrobacterium-mediated transformation and regeneration of switchgrass in which plants are recovered within 6-7 months from culture establishment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine A. Ondzighi-Assoume
- Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN 37209 USA
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996 USA
| | - Jonathan D. Willis
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996 USA
| | - Wilson K. Ouma
- Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN 37209 USA
| | - Sara M. Allen
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996 USA
| | - Zachary King
- Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics& Genomics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-7272 USA
| | - Wayne A. Parrott
- Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics& Genomics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-7272 USA
| | - Wusheng Liu
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996 USA
- Department of Horticultural Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27607 USA
| | - Jason N. Burris
- Department of Food Science, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996 USA
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, TN 37996 USA
| | - Scott C. Lenaghan
- Department of Food Science, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996 USA
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, TN 37996 USA
| | - C. Neal Stewart
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996 USA
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, TN 37996 USA
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11
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Dixon RA, Barros J. Lignin biosynthesis: old roads revisited and new roads explored. Open Biol 2019; 9:190215. [PMID: 31795915 PMCID: PMC6936255 DOI: 10.1098/rsob.190215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 103] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2019] [Accepted: 10/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Lignin is a major component of secondarily thickened plant cell walls and is considered to be the second most abundant biopolymer on the planet. At one point believed to be the product of a highly controlled polymerization procedure involving just three potential monomeric components (monolignols), it is becoming increasingly clear that the composition of lignin is quite flexible. Furthermore, the biosynthetic pathways to the major monolignols also appear to exhibit flexibility, particularly as regards the early reactions leading to the formation of caffeic acid from coumaric acid. The operation of parallel pathways to caffeic acid occurring at the level of shikimate esters or free acids may help provide robustness to the pathway under different physiological conditions. Several features of the pathway also appear to link monolignol biosynthesis to both generation and detoxification of hydrogen peroxide, one of the oxidants responsible for creating monolignol radicals for polymerization in the apoplast. Monolignol transport to the apoplast is not well understood. It may involve passive diffusion, although this may be targeted to sites of lignin initiation/polymerization by ordered complexes of both biosynthetic enzymes on the cytosolic side of the plasma membrane and structural anchoring of proteins for monolignol oxidation and polymerization on the apoplastic side. We present several hypothetical models to illustrate these ideas and stimulate further research. These are based primarily on studies in model systems, which may or may not reflect the major lignification process in forest trees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard A. Dixon
- Hagler Institute for Advanced Studies and Department of Biological Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
- BioDiscovery Institute and Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Texas, 1155 Union Circle #311428, Denton, TX 76203-5017, USA
| | - Jaime Barros
- BioDiscovery Institute and Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Texas, 1155 Union Circle #311428, Denton, TX 76203-5017, USA
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12
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Volpi E Silva N, Mazzafera P, Cesarino I. Should I stay or should I go: are chlorogenic acids mobilized towards lignin biosynthesis? PHYTOCHEMISTRY 2019; 166:112063. [PMID: 31280091 DOI: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2019.112063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2019] [Revised: 06/18/2019] [Accepted: 06/30/2019] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Chlorogenic acids (CGAs) and the biopolymer lignin are both products of the phenylpropanoid pathway. Whereas CGAs have been reported to play a role during stress responses, lignin is a major component of secondary cell walls, providing physical strength and hydrophobicity to supportive and water-conducting tissues. Because the chemical structure of CGAs largely resembles those of some lignin intermediates and because CGAs can be converted back to hydroxycinnamoyl-CoAs in vitro, CGAs have been considered authentic intermediates of the lignin biosynthetic pathway. However, it is still unclear whether and how the CGA pool can be channeled towards the production of lignin monomers in response to developmental or environmental signals. Comprehensive studies on the catalytic activity of recombinant enzymes together with functional characterizations in planta have been very useful in understanding the potential interdependence between these two metabolic routes. Here we present the current understanding on CGA metabolism and discuss the biochemical and molecular evidence of the metabolic re-routing of CGAs towards lignin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathalia Volpi E Silva
- Department of Plant Biology, Institute of Biology, State University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil
| | - Paulo Mazzafera
- Department of Plant Biology, Institute of Biology, State University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil; Department of Crop Science, College of Agriculture "Luiz de Queiroz", University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil
| | - Igor Cesarino
- Department of Botany, Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo, Rua do Matão 277, CEP, 05508-090, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
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13
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Ferreira SS, Simões MS, Carvalho GG, de Lima LGA, Svartman RMDA, Cesarino I. The lignin toolbox of the model grass Setaria viridis. PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2019; 101:235-255. [PMID: 31254267 DOI: 10.1007/s11103-019-00897-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2019] [Accepted: 06/25/2019] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
The core set of biosynthetic genes potentially involved in developmental lignification was identified in the model C4 grass Setaria viridis. Lignin has been recognized as a major recalcitrant factor negatively affecting the processing of plant biomass into bioproducts. However, the efficient manipulation of lignin deposition in order to generate optimized crops for the biorefinery requires a fundamental knowledge of several aspects of lignin metabolism, including regulation, biosynthesis and polymerization. The current availability of an annotated genome for the model grass Setaria viridis allows the genome-wide characterization of genes involved in the metabolic pathway leading to the production of monolignols, the main building blocks of lignin. Here we performed a comprehensive study of monolignol biosynthetic genes as an initial step into the characterization of lignin metabolism in S. viridis. A total of 56 genes encoding bona fide enzymes catalyzing the consecutive ten steps of the monolignol biosynthetic pathway were identified in the S. viridis genome. A combination of comparative phylogenetic studies, high-throughput expression analysis and quantitative RT-PCR analysis was further employed to identify the family members potentially involved in developmental lignification. Accordingly, 14 genes clustered with genes from closely related species with a known function in lignification and showed an expression pattern that correlates with lignin deposition. These genes were considered the "core lignin toolbox" responsible for the constitutive, developmental lignification in S. viridis. These results provide the basis for further understanding lignin deposition in C4 grasses and will ultimately allow the validation of biotechnological strategies to produce crops with enhanced processing properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sávio Siqueira Ferreira
- Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, 277, São Paulo, 05508-900, Brazil
| | - Marcella Siqueira Simões
- Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, 277, São Paulo, 05508-900, Brazil
| | - Gabriel Garon Carvalho
- Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, 277, São Paulo, 05508-900, Brazil
| | - Leydson Gabriel Alves de Lima
- Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, 277, São Paulo, 05508-900, Brazil
| | | | - Igor Cesarino
- Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, 277, São Paulo, 05508-900, Brazil.
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14
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Xie H, Engle NL, Venketachalam S, Yoo CG, Barros J, Lecoultre M, Howard N, Li G, Sun L, Srivastava AC, Pattathil S, Pu Y, Hahn MG, Ragauskas AJ, Nelson RS, Dixon RA, Tschaplinski TJ, Blancaflor EB, Tang Y. Combining loss of function of FOLYLPOLYGLUTAMATE SYNTHETASE1 and CAFFEOYL- COA 3- O- METHYLTRANSFERASE1 for lignin reduction and improved saccharification efficiency in Arabidopsis thaliana. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS 2019; 12:108. [PMID: 31073332 PMCID: PMC6498598 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-019-1446-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2018] [Accepted: 04/20/2019] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Downregulation of genes involved in lignin biosynthesis and related biochemical pathways has been used as a strategy to improve biofuel production. Plant C1 metabolism provides the methyl units used for the methylation reactions carried out by two methyltransferases in the lignin biosynthetic pathway: caffeic acid 3-O-methyltransferase (COMT) and caffeoyl-CoA 3-O-methyltransferase (CCoAOMT). Mutations in these genes resulted in lower lignin levels and altered lignin compositions. Reduced lignin levels can also be achieved by mutations in the C1 pathway gene, folylpolyglutamate synthetase1 (FPGS1), in both monocotyledons and dicotyledons, indicating a link between the C1 and lignin biosynthetic pathways. To test if lignin content can be further reduced by combining genetic mutations in C1 metabolism and the lignin biosynthetic pathway, fpgs1ccoaomt1 double mutants were generated and functionally characterized. RESULTS Double fpgs1ccoaomt1 mutants had lower thioacidolysis lignin monomer yield and acetyl bromide lignin content than the ccoaomt1 or fpgs1 mutants and the plants themselves displayed no obvious long-term negative growth phenotypes. Moreover, extracts from the double mutants had dramatically improved enzymatic polysaccharide hydrolysis efficiencies than the single mutants: 15.1% and 20.7% higher than ccoaomt1 and fpgs1, respectively. The reduced lignin and improved sugar release of fpgs1ccoaomt1 was coupled with changes in cell-wall composition, metabolite profiles, and changes in expression of genes involved in cell-wall and lignin biosynthesis. CONCLUSION Our observations demonstrate that additional reduction in lignin content and improved sugar release can be achieved by simultaneous downregulation of a gene in the C1 (FPGS1) and lignin biosynthetic (CCOAOMT) pathways. These improvements in sugar accessibility were achieved without introducing unwanted long-term plant growth and developmental defects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongli Xie
- Noble Research Institute, LLC, 2510 Sam Noble Parkway, Ardmore, OK 73401 USA
- BioEnergy Science Center, United States Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 USA
| | - Nancy L. Engle
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 USA
- BioEnergy Science Center, United States Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 USA
- The Center for Bioenergy Innovation, United States Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 USA
| | - Sivasankari Venketachalam
- Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, University of Georgia, 315 Riverbend Road, Athens, GA 30602 USA
- BioEnergy Science Center, United States Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 USA
- The Center for Bioenergy Innovation, United States Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 USA
| | - Chang Geun Yoo
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 USA
- BioEnergy Science Center, United States Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 USA
- The Center for Bioenergy Innovation, United States Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 USA
| | - Jaime Barros
- BioDiscovery Institute and Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203 USA
- BioEnergy Science Center, United States Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 USA
- The Center for Bioenergy Innovation, United States Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 USA
| | - Mitch Lecoultre
- Noble Research Institute, LLC, 2510 Sam Noble Parkway, Ardmore, OK 73401 USA
- BioEnergy Science Center, United States Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 USA
| | - Nikki Howard
- Noble Research Institute, LLC, 2510 Sam Noble Parkway, Ardmore, OK 73401 USA
- BioEnergy Science Center, United States Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 USA
| | - Guifen Li
- Noble Research Institute, LLC, 2510 Sam Noble Parkway, Ardmore, OK 73401 USA
| | - Liang Sun
- Noble Research Institute, LLC, 2510 Sam Noble Parkway, Ardmore, OK 73401 USA
| | - Avinash C. Srivastava
- Noble Research Institute, LLC, 2510 Sam Noble Parkway, Ardmore, OK 73401 USA
- BioEnergy Science Center, United States Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 USA
| | - Sivakumar Pattathil
- Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, University of Georgia, 315 Riverbend Road, Athens, GA 30602 USA
- BioEnergy Science Center, United States Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 USA
| | - Yunqiao Pu
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 USA
- BioEnergy Science Center, United States Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 USA
- The Center for Bioenergy Innovation, United States Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 USA
| | - Michael G. Hahn
- Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, University of Georgia, 315 Riverbend Road, Athens, GA 30602 USA
- BioEnergy Science Center, United States Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 USA
- The Center for Bioenergy Innovation, United States Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 USA
| | - Arthur J. Ragauskas
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 USA
- BioEnergy Science Center, United States Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 USA
- The Center for Bioenergy Innovation, United States Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 USA
| | - Richard S. Nelson
- Noble Research Institute, LLC, 2510 Sam Noble Parkway, Ardmore, OK 73401 USA
- BioEnergy Science Center, United States Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 USA
| | - Richard A. Dixon
- BioDiscovery Institute and Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203 USA
- BioEnergy Science Center, United States Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 USA
- The Center for Bioenergy Innovation, United States Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 USA
| | - Timothy J. Tschaplinski
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 USA
- BioEnergy Science Center, United States Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 USA
- The Center for Bioenergy Innovation, United States Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 USA
| | - Elison B. Blancaflor
- Noble Research Institute, LLC, 2510 Sam Noble Parkway, Ardmore, OK 73401 USA
- BioEnergy Science Center, United States Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 USA
| | - Yuhong Tang
- Noble Research Institute, LLC, 2510 Sam Noble Parkway, Ardmore, OK 73401 USA
- BioEnergy Science Center, United States Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 USA
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15
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Gou J, Tang C, Chen N, Wang H, Debnath S, Sun L, Flanagan A, Tang Y, Jiang Q, Allen RD, Wang ZY. SPL7 and SPL8 represent a novel flowering regulation mechanism in switchgrass. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2019; 222:1610-1623. [PMID: 30688366 DOI: 10.1111/nph.15712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2018] [Accepted: 01/11/2019] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
The aging pathway in flowering regulation is controlled mainly by microRNA156 (miR156). Studies in Arabidopsis thaliana reveal that nine miR156-targeted SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING-LIKE (SPL) genes are involved in the control of flowering. However, the roles of SPLs in flowering remain elusive in grasses. Inflorescence development in switchgrass was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Microarray, quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-PCR and EMSA were used to identify regulators of phase transition and flowering. Gene function was characterized by downregulation and overexpression of the target genes. Overexpression of SPL7 and SPL8 promotes flowering, whereas downregulation of individual genes moderately delays flowering. Simultaneous downregulation of SPL7/SPL8 results in extremely delayed or nonflowering plants. Furthermore, downregulation of both genes leads to a vegetative-to-reproductive reversion in the inflorescence, a phenomenon that has not been reported in any other grasses. Detailed analyses demonstrate that SPL7 and SPL8 induce phase transition and flowering in grasses by directly upregulating SEPALLATA3 (SEP3) and MADS32. Thus, the SPL7/8 pathway represents a novel regulatory mechanism in grasses that is largely different from that in Arabidopsis. Additionally, genetic modification of SPL7 and SPL8 results in much taller plants with significantly increased biomass yield and sugar release.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiqing Gou
- Noble Research Institute, Ardmore, OK, 73401, USA
- BioEnergy Science Center (BESC), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, USA
| | - Chaorong Tang
- Noble Research Institute, Ardmore, OK, 73401, USA
- Hainan University, Haiko, 570228, China
| | - Naichong Chen
- Institute for Agricultural Biosciences, Oklahoma State University, Ardmore, OK, 73401, USA
| | - Hui Wang
- Institute for Agricultural Biosciences, Oklahoma State University, Ardmore, OK, 73401, USA
| | - Smriti Debnath
- Noble Research Institute, Ardmore, OK, 73401, USA
- BioEnergy Science Center (BESC), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, USA
| | - Liang Sun
- Noble Research Institute, Ardmore, OK, 73401, USA
| | - Amy Flanagan
- Noble Research Institute, Ardmore, OK, 73401, USA
- BioEnergy Science Center (BESC), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, USA
| | - Yuhong Tang
- Noble Research Institute, Ardmore, OK, 73401, USA
- BioEnergy Science Center (BESC), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, USA
| | | | - Randy D Allen
- Institute for Agricultural Biosciences, Oklahoma State University, Ardmore, OK, 73401, USA
| | - Zeng-Yu Wang
- Noble Research Institute, Ardmore, OK, 73401, USA
- BioEnergy Science Center (BESC), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, USA
- Grassland Agri-Husbandry Research Center, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, 266109, China
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16
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Oney-Birol S, Fitz-Gibbon S, Chen JM, Gugger PF, Sork VL. Assessment of shared alleles in drought-associated candidate genes among southern California white oak species (Quercus sect. Quercus). BMC Genet 2018; 19:88. [PMID: 30285631 PMCID: PMC6167808 DOI: 10.1186/s12863-018-0677-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2018] [Accepted: 09/19/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hybridization and introgression are common phenomena among oak species. These processes can be beneficial by introducing favorable genetic variants across species (adaptive introgression). Given that drought is an important stress, impacting physiological and morphological variation and limiting distributions, our goal was to identify drought-related genes that might exhibit patterns of introgression influenced by natural selection. Using RNAseq, we sequenced whole transcriptomes of 24 individuals from three oaks in southern California: (Quercus engelmannii, Quercus berberidifolia, Quercus cornelius-mulleri) and identified genetic variants to estimate admixture rates of all variants and those in drought genes. RESULTS We found 398,042 variants across all loci and 4352 variants in 139 drought candidate genes. STRUCTURE analysis of all variants revealed the majority of our samples were assignable to a single species, but with several highly admixed individuals. When using drought-associated variants, the same individuals exhibited less admixture and their allele frequencies were more polarized between Engelmann and scrub oaks than when using the total gene set. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that selection may act differently on functional genes, such as drought-associated genes, and point to candidate genes that are suggestive of divergent selection among species maintaining adaptive differences. For example, the drought genes that showed the strongest bias against engelmannii-fixed oak variants in scrub oaks were related to sugar transporter, coumarate-coA ligases, glutathione S-conjugation, and stress response. CONCLUSION This pilot study illustrates that whole transcriptomes of individuals will provide useful data for identifying functional genes that contribute to adaptive divergence among hybridizing species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Signem Oney-Birol
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, 15030, Burdur, Turkey.
| | - Sorel Fitz-Gibbon
- Institute of Genomics and Proteomics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Jin-Ming Chen
- Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430074, Hubei, China
| | - Paul F Gugger
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-7239, USA.,Appalachian Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Frostburg, MD, 21532, USA
| | - Victoria L Sork
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-7239, USA.,Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1496, USA
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17
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Pelot KA, Chen R, Hagelthorn DM, Young CA, Addison JB, Muchlinski A, Tholl D, Zerbe P. Functional Diversity of Diterpene Synthases in the Biofuel Crop Switchgrass. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2018; 178:54-71. [PMID: 30008447 PMCID: PMC6130043 DOI: 10.1104/pp.18.00590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2018] [Accepted: 07/05/2018] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Diterpenoids constitute a diverse class of metabolites with critical functions in plant development, defense, and ecological adaptation. Major monocot crops, such as maize (Zea mays) and rice (Oryza sativa), deploy diverse blends of specialized diterpenoids as core components of biotic and abiotic stress resilience. Here, we describe the genome-wide identification and functional characterization of stress-related diterpene synthases (diTPSs) in the dedicated bioenergy crop switchgrass (Panicum virgatum). Mining of the allotetraploid switchgrass genome identified an expansive diTPS family of 31 members, and biochemical analysis of 11 diTPSs revealed a modular metabolic network producing a diverse array of diterpenoid metabolites. In addition to ent-copalyl diphosphate (CPP) and ent-kaurene synthases predictably involved in gibberellin biosynthesis, we identified syn-CPP and ent-labda-13-en-8-ol diphosphate (LPP) synthases as well as two diTPSs forming (+)-labda-8,13E-dienyl diphosphate (8,13-CPP) and ent-neo-cis-trans-clerodienyl diphosphate (CT-CLPP) scaffolds not observed previously in plants. Structure-guided mutagenesis of the (+)-8,13-CPP and ent-neo-CT-CLPP synthases revealed residue substitutions in the active sites that altered product outcome, representing potential neofunctionalization events that occurred during diversification of the switchgrass diTPS family. The conversion of ent-CPP, ent-LPP, syn-CPP, and ent-neo-CT-CLPP by promiscuous diTPSs further yielded distinct labdane-type diterpene olefins and alcohols. Of these metabolites, the formation of 9β-hydroxy-syn-pimar-15-ene and the expression of the corresponding genes were induced in roots and leaves in response to oxidative stress and ultraviolet irradiation, indicating their possible roles in abiotic stress adaptation. Together, these findings expand the known chemical space of diterpenoid metabolism in monocot crops toward systematically investigating and ultimately improving stress resilience traits in crop species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle A Pelot
- Department of Plant Biology, University of California, Davis, California 95616
| | - Ruibing Chen
- Department of Plant Biology, University of California, Davis, California 95616
- Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, School of Pharmacy, Second Military Medical University, 200433 Shanghai, China
| | - David M Hagelthorn
- Department of Plant Biology, University of California, Davis, California 95616
| | - Cari A Young
- Department of Plant Biology, University of California, Davis, California 95616
| | - J Bennett Addison
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, San Diego State University, San Diego, California 92182
| | - Andrew Muchlinski
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061
| | - Dorothea Tholl
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061
| | - Philipp Zerbe
- Department of Plant Biology, University of California, Davis, California 95616
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18
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Mazarei M, Baxter HL, Li M, Biswal AK, Kim K, Meng X, Pu Y, Wuddineh WA, Zhang JY, Turner GB, Sykes RW, Davis MF, Udvardi MK, Wang ZY, Mohnen D, Ragauskas AJ, Labbé N, Stewart CN. Functional Analysis of Cellulose Synthase CesA4 and CesA6 Genes in Switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum) by Overexpression and RNAi-Mediated Gene Silencing. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2018; 9:1114. [PMID: 30127793 PMCID: PMC6088197 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2018.01114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2018] [Accepted: 07/10/2018] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is a leading lignocellulosic bioenergy feedstock. Cellulose is a major component of the plant cell walls and the primary substrate for saccharification. Accessibility of cellulose to enzymatic breakdown into fermentable sugars is limited by the presence of lignin in the plant cell wall. In this study, putatively novel switchgrass secondary cell wall cellulose synthase PvCesA4 and primary cell wall PvCesA6 genes were identified and their functional role in cellulose synthesis and cell wall composition was examined by overexpression and knockdown of the individual genes in switchgrass. The endogenous expression of PvCesA4 and PvCesA6 genes varied among including roots, leaves, stem, and reproductive tissues. Increasing or decreasing PvCesA4 and PvCesA6 expression to extreme levels in the transgenic lines resulted in decreased biomass production. PvCesA6-overexpressing lines had reduced lignin content and syringyl/guaiacyl lignin monomer ratio accompanied by increased sugar release efficiency, suggesting an impact of PvCesA6 expression levels on lignin biosynthesis. Cellulose content and cellulose crystallinity were decreased, while xylan content was increased in PvCesA4 and PvCesA6 overexpression or knockdown lines. The increase in xylan content suggests that the amount of non-cellulosic cell wall polysaccharide was modified in these plants. Taken together, the results show that the manipulation of the cellulose synthase genes alters the cell wall composition and availability of cellulose as a bioprocessing substrate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mitra Mazarei
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, United States
- BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
| | - Holly L. Baxter
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, United States
- BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
| | - Mi Li
- BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
- Biosciences Division, Joint Institute for Biological Science, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
| | - Ajaya K. Biswal
- BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
- Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| | - Keonhee Kim
- Center for Renewable Carbon, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, United States
| | - Xianzhi Meng
- BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, United States
| | - Yunqiao Pu
- BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
- Biosciences Division, Joint Institute for Biological Science, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
| | - Wegi A. Wuddineh
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, United States
- BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
| | - Ji-Yi Zhang
- BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
- Noble Research Institute, Ardmore, OK, United States
| | - Geoffrey B. Turner
- BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO, United States
| | - Robert W. Sykes
- BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO, United States
| | - Mark F. Davis
- BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO, United States
| | - Michael K. Udvardi
- BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
- Noble Research Institute, Ardmore, OK, United States
| | - Zeng-Yu Wang
- BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
- Noble Research Institute, Ardmore, OK, United States
| | - Debra Mohnen
- BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
- Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| | - Arthur J. Ragauskas
- BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
- Biosciences Division, Joint Institute for Biological Science, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, United States
| | - Nicole Labbé
- Center for Renewable Carbon, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, United States
| | - C. Neal Stewart
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, United States
- BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
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19
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Gilna P, Lynd LR, Mohnen D, Davis MF, Davison BH. Progress in understanding and overcoming biomass recalcitrance: a BioEnergy Science Center (BESC) perspective. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS 2017; 10:285. [PMID: 29213324 PMCID: PMC5707806 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-017-0971-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2017] [Accepted: 11/15/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
The DOE BioEnergy Science Center has operated as a virtual center with multiple partners for a decade targeting overcoming biomass recalcitrance. BESC has redefined biomass recalcitrance from an observable phenotype to a better understood and manipulatable fundamental and operational property. These manipulations are the result of deeper biological understanding and can be combined with other advanced biotechnology improvements in biomass conversion to improve bioenergy processes and markets. This article provides an overview of key accomplishments in overcoming recalcitrance via better plants, better microbes, and better tools and combinations. A perspective on the aspects of successful center operation is presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Gilna
- BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 USA
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 Bethel Valley Road, Bldg. 1505, Rm. 100A, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6037 USA
| | - Lee R. Lynd
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 Bethel Valley Road, Bldg. 1505, Rm. 100A, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6037 USA
- Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755 USA
| | - Debra Mohnen
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 Bethel Valley Road, Bldg. 1505, Rm. 100A, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6037 USA
- Complex Carbohydrate Research Center and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602 USA
| | - Mark F. Davis
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 Bethel Valley Road, Bldg. 1505, Rm. 100A, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6037 USA
- National Bioenergy Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO 80401 USA
| | - Brian H. Davison
- BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 USA
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 Bethel Valley Road, Bldg. 1505, Rm. 100A, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6037 USA
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