Bioenergy Scientists Discover Genetic Pathway for Easier and Less Costly Biofuels Processing

Researchers at the Center for Bioenergy Innovation (CBI) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have discovered a pathway for lignin formation in plants that could make biofuels processing easier and less costly.

The researchers focused on C-lignin, a polymer in the seed coats of certain exotic plants. C-lignin is easier to deconstruct because it has a chemical structure that is more linear than other lignins. The scientists working as part of CBI, a U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Research Center, have now identified the genetic mechanism of C-lignin, and hope to engineer bioenergy crops to form C-lignin while constraining the growth of G/S-lignins, which could lead to more affordable, higher-yield bioprocessing.

Their colleagues at the University of North Texas' BioDiscovery Institute are working on making C-lignin in plants that do not normally make it. Before the discovery, C-lignin was a smaller, minor component of the larger lignin molecules found in plant cell walls. But now, introducing C-lignin into cell walls may enable the reduction of energy requirements for the deconstruction process. "This work represents one of several steps towards an economically viable bioeconomy,” said Jerry Tuskan, CBI's chief executive officer at ORNL.

For more details, read the article in ORNL News.