Stacking Multiple Traits for High Yield of Fermentable Sugars in Plant Biomass
January 17, 2018https://biotechnologyforbiofuels.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13068-017-1007-6
|
Second-generation biofuels help decrease dependency on fossil fuels. To make biomass more suitable for biorefinery use, researchers need to better understand plant cell wall synthesis. Increasing the ratio of C6 to C5 sugars in the cell wall and decreasing the lignin content are two important targets in engineering of plants that are more suitable for biofuel production. Aude Aznar and Camille Chalvin of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have identified genes involved in the synthesis of pectic galactan, including the GALS1 and URGT1.
Their team aimed to engineer plants with increased pectic galactan in stems. To do this, they used plants that were already engineered to have low xylan content, then further engineered them to overexpress GALS1, URGT1, and UGE2, a UDP-glucose epimerase. Finally, the high galactan and low xylan traits were again stacked with the low lignin trait, which was achieved by expressing the QsuB gene encoding dehydroshikimate dehydratase in lignifying cells.
These results show that increasing C6 sugar content, decreasing xylan, and reducing lignin content can be combined in an additive manner, leading to improved properties in terms of biofuel production, without any negative growth effects.
|
Biotech Updates is a weekly newsletter of ISAAA, a not-for-profit organization. It is distributed for free to over 22,000 subscribers worldwide to inform them about the key developments in biosciences, especially in biotechnology. Your support will help us in our mission to feed the world with knowledge. You can help by donating as little as $10.
-
See more articles:
-
News from Around the World
- Prices of Food Decline in December 2017
- Northern Corn Leaf Blight Genes Now Identified
- US President Donald Trump Mentions Biotechnology at AFBF Convention
- NRGene Reports First-ever Food Potato Genomes
- SABC and ISCI Release "Cotton Bollworm Management Strategy" for India
- Space Age Plant Breeding Paves the Way for Future Crops
- Study Reveals How Climate Change Alters Plant Growth
-
Research Highlights
- Vietnamese Researchers Analyze Function of Arabidopsis ERF8 Expressed in E. coli
- Biofortification of Beta-carotene in Cassava Enhances Provitamin A Content and Shelf Life
- Generating RNA Virus Resistance in Plants by Harnessing the CRISPR Immune System
-
Beyond Crop Biotech
- Wearable Sensors to Measure Water Use in Plants
- Indigo Dye from Genetically Engineered Bacteria
-
Resources
- Trending News on Crop Biotech in 2017
-
Plant
- Development of Glutinous Rice via CRISPR-Cas9 Mutagenesis in Elite Rice Variety
- Researchers Study the Function of FRUCTOKINASE-LIKE PROTEIN 1 in Rice Using CRISPR-Cas9
-
Read the latest: - Biotech Updates (March 27, 2024)
- Gene Editing Supplement (March 27, 2024)
- Gene Drive Supplement (February 22, 2023)
-
Subscribe to BU: - Share
- Tweet