1
|
Buell CR, Dardick C, Parrott W, Schmitz RJ, Shih PM, Tsai CJ, Urbanowicz B. Engineering custom morpho- and chemotypes of Populus for sustainable production of biofuels, bioproducts, and biomaterials. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1288826. [PMID: 37965014 PMCID: PMC10642751 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1288826] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/16/2023]
Abstract
Humans have been modifying plant traits for thousands of years, first through selection (i.e., domestication) then modern breeding, and in the last 30 years, through biotechnology. These modifications have resulted in increased yield, more efficient agronomic practices, and enhanced quality traits. Precision knowledge of gene regulation and function through high-resolution single-cell omics technologies, coupled with the ability to engineer plant genomes at the DNA sequence, chromatin accessibility, and gene expression levels, can enable engineering of complex and complementary traits at the biosystem level. Populus spp., the primary genetic model system for woody perennials, are among the fastest growing trees in temperate zones and are important for both carbon sequestration and global carbon cycling. Ample genomic and transcriptomic resources for poplar are available including emerging single-cell omics datasets. To expand use of poplar outside of valorization of woody biomass, chassis with novel morphotypes in which stem branching and tree height are modified can be fabricated thereby leading to trees with altered leaf to wood ratios. These morphotypes can then be engineered into customized chemotypes that produce high value biofuels, bioproducts, and biomaterials not only in specific organs but also in a cell-type-specific manner. For example, the recent discovery of triterpene production in poplar leaf trichomes can be exploited using cell-type specific regulatory sequences to synthesize high value terpenes such as the jet fuel precursor bisabolene specifically in the trichomes. By spatially and temporally controlling expression, not only can pools of abundant precursors be exploited but engineered molecules can be sequestered in discrete cell structures in the leaf. The structural diversity of the hemicellulose xylan is a barrier to fully utilizing lignocellulose in biomaterial production and by leveraging cell-type-specific omics data, cell wall composition can be modified in a tailored and targeted specific manner to generate poplar wood with novel chemical features that are amenable for processing or advanced manufacturing. Precision engineering poplar as a multi-purpose sustainable feedstock highlights how genome engineering can be used to re-imagine a crop species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- C. Robin Buell
- Center for Applied Genetic Technologies, Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Genomics, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| | - Christopher Dardick
- Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Kearneysville, WV, United States
| | - Wayne Parrott
- Center for Applied Genetic Technologies, Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Genomics, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| | - Robert J. Schmitz
- Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| | - Patrick M. Shih
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Chung-Jui Tsai
- Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
- Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| | - Breeanna Urbanowicz
- Center for Complex Carbohydrate Research, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Yu C, Hou K, Zhang H, Liang X, Chen C, Wang Z, Wu Q, Chen G, He J, Bai E, Li X, Du T, Wang Y, Wang M, Feng S, Wang H, Shen C. Integrated mass spectrometry imaging and single-cell transcriptome atlas strategies provide novel insights into taxoid biosynthesis and transport in Taxus mairei stems. THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2023; 115:1243-1260. [PMID: 37219365 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.16315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2023] [Revised: 04/30/2023] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Taxol, which is a widely used important chemotherapeutic agent, was originally isolated from Taxus stem barks. However, little is known about the precise distribution of taxoids and the transcriptional regulation of taxoid biosynthesis across Taxus stems. Here, we used MALDI-IMS analysis to visualize the taxoid distribution across Taxus mairei stems and single-cell RNA sequencing to generate expression profiles. A single-cell T. mairei stem atlas was created, providing a spatial distribution pattern of Taxus stem cells. Cells were reordered using a main developmental pseudotime trajectory which provided temporal distribution patterns in Taxus stem cells. Most known taxol biosynthesis-related genes were primarily expressed in epidermal, endodermal, and xylem parenchyma cells, which caused an uneven taxoid distribution across T. mairei stems. We developed a single-cell strategy to screen novel transcription factors (TFs) involved in taxol biosynthesis regulation. Several TF genes, such as endodermal cell-specific MYB47 and xylem parenchyma cell-specific NAC2 and bHLH68, were implicated as potential regulators of taxol biosynthesis. Furthermore, an ATP-binding cassette family transporter gene, ABCG2, was proposed as a potential taxoid transporter candidate. In summary, we generated a single-cell Taxus stem metabolic atlas and identified molecular mechanisms underpinning the cell-specific transcriptional regulation of the taxol biosynthesis pathway.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chunna Yu
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Genetic Improvement and Quality Control of Medicinal Plants, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, China
| | - Kailin Hou
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Genetic Improvement and Quality Control of Medicinal Plants, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, China
| | - Hongshan Zhang
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Genetic Improvement and Quality Control of Medicinal Plants, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, China
- Kharkiv Institute, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, China
| | - Xueshuang Liang
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Genetic Improvement and Quality Control of Medicinal Plants, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, China
| | - Cheng Chen
- College of Pharmacy, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, China
| | - Zhijing Wang
- College of Pharmacy, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, China
| | - Qicong Wu
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Genetic Improvement and Quality Control of Medicinal Plants, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, China
| | - Ganlin Chen
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Genetic Improvement and Quality Control of Medicinal Plants, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, China
| | - Jiaxu He
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Genetic Improvement and Quality Control of Medicinal Plants, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, China
| | - Enhui Bai
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Genetic Improvement and Quality Control of Medicinal Plants, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, China
| | - Xinfen Li
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Genetic Improvement and Quality Control of Medicinal Plants, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, China
| | - Tingrui Du
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Genetic Improvement and Quality Control of Medicinal Plants, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, China
| | - Yifan Wang
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Genetic Improvement and Quality Control of Medicinal Plants, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, China
| | - Mingshuang Wang
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Genetic Improvement and Quality Control of Medicinal Plants, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, China
| | - Shangguo Feng
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Genetic Improvement and Quality Control of Medicinal Plants, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, China
| | - Huizhong Wang
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Genetic Improvement and Quality Control of Medicinal Plants, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, China
| | - Chenjia Shen
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Genetic Improvement and Quality Control of Medicinal Plants, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, China
- Kharkiv Institute, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, China
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Yang Y, Chaffin TA, Ahkami AH, Blumwald E, Stewart CN. Plant synthetic biology innovations for biofuels and bioproducts. Trends Biotechnol 2022; 40:1454-1468. [PMID: 36241578 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2022.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2022] [Revised: 08/26/2022] [Accepted: 09/15/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Plant-based biosynthesis of fuels, chemicals, and materials promotes environmental sustainability, which includes decreases in greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution, and loss of biodiversity. Advances in plant synthetic biology (synbio) should improve precision and efficacy of genetic engineering for sustainability. Applicable synbio innovations include genome editing, gene circuit design, synthetic promoter development, gene stacking technologies, and the design of environmental sensors. Moreover, recent advancements in developing spatially resolved and single-cell omics contribute to the discovery and characterization of cell-type-specific mechanisms and spatiotemporal gene regulations in distinct plant tissues for the expression of cell- and tissue-specific genes, resulting in improved bioproduction. This review highlights recent plant synbio progress and new single-cell molecular profiling towards sustainable biofuel and biomaterial production.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yongil Yang
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, TN, USA; Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
| | - Timothy Alexander Chaffin
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, TN, USA; Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
| | - Amir H Ahkami
- Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA, USA
| | - Eduardo Blumwald
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Charles Neal Stewart
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, TN, USA; Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA; Center for Bioenergy Innovation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Joshi A, Verma KK, D Rajput V, Minkina T, Arora J. Recent advances in metabolic engineering of microorganisms for advancing lignocellulose-derived biofuels. Bioengineered 2022; 13:8135-8163. [PMID: 35297313 PMCID: PMC9161965 DOI: 10.1080/21655979.2022.2051856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Combating climate change and ensuring energy supply to a rapidly growing global population has highlighted the need to replace petroleum fuels with clean, and sustainable renewable fuels. Biofuels offer a solution to safeguard energy security with reduced ecological footprint and process economics. Over the past years, lignocellulosic biomass has become the most preferred raw material for the production of biofuels, such as fuel, alcohol, biodiesel, and biohydrogen. However, the cost-effective conversion of lignocellulose into biofuels remains an unsolved challenge at the industrial scale. Recently, intensive efforts have been made in lignocellulose feedstock and microbial engineering to address this problem. By improving the biological pathways leading to the polysaccharide, lignin, and lipid biosynthesis, limited success has been achieved, and still needs to improve sustainable biofuel production. Impressive success is being achieved by the retouring metabolic pathways of different microbial hosts. Several robust phenotypes, mostly from bacteria and yeast domains, have been successfully constructed with improved substrate spectrum, product yield and sturdiness against hydrolysate toxins. Cyanobacteria is also being explored for metabolic advancement in recent years, however, it also remained underdeveloped to generate commercialized biofuels. The bacterium Escherichia coli and yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains are also being engineered to have cell surfaces displaying hydrolytic enzymes, which holds much promise for near-term scale-up and biorefinery use. Looking forward, future advances to achieve economically feasible production of lignocellulosic-based biofuels with special focus on designing more efficient metabolic pathways coupled with screening, and engineering of novel enzymes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Abhishek Joshi
- Laboratory of Biomolecular Technology, Department of Botany, Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur313001, India
| | - Krishan K. Verma
- Key Laboratory of Sugarcane Biotechnology and Genetic Improvement (Guangxi), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs/Guangxi Key Laboratory of Sugarcane Genetic improvement/Sugarcane Research Institute, Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanning - 530007, China
| | - Vishnu D Rajput
- Academy of Biology and Biotechnology, Southern Federal University, 344090, Russia
| | - Tatiana Minkina
- Academy of Biology and Biotechnology, Southern Federal University, 344090, Russia
| | - Jaya Arora
- Laboratory of Biomolecular Technology, Department of Botany, Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur313001, India,CONTACT Jaya Arora Laboratory of Biomolecular Technology, Department of Botany, Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur313001, India
| |
Collapse
|