Skip to main content
OSTI.GOVU.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information
 

Stover composition in maize and sorghum reveals remarkable genetic variation and plasticity for carbohydrate accumulation

Journal Article · · Frontiers in Plant Science
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [2];  [2]
  1. Clemson Univ., Clemson, SC (United States). Dept. of Genetics and Biochemistry; University of Wisconsin - Madison
  2. Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States). Dept. of Agronomy, DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center
  3. Federal Univ. of Goias, Goiania (Brazil). Institute of Mathematics and Statistics
  4. Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States). Center for Chemical Genomics
  5. Texas A&M Univ., College Station, TX (United States). Dept. of Soil and Crop Sciences
+ Show Author Affiliations
Carbohydrates stored in vegetative organs, particularly stems, of grasses are a very important source of energy. We examined carbohydrate accumulation in adult sorghum and maize hybrids with distinct phenology and different end uses (grain, silage, sucrose or sweetness in stalk juice, and biomass). Remarkable variation was observed for nonstructural carbohydrates and structural polysaccharides during three key developmental stages both between and within hybrids developed for distinct end use in both species. At the onset of the reproductive phase (average 65 days after planting, DAP), a wide range for accumulation of non-structural carbohydrates (free glucose and sucrose combined), was observed in internodes of maize (11-24%) and sorghum (7-36%) indicating substantial variation for transient storage of excess photosynthate during periods of low grain or vegetative sink strength. Remobilization of these reserves for supporting grain fill or vegetative growth was evident from lower amounts in maize (8-19%) and sorghum (9-27%) near the end of the reproductive period (average 95 DAP). At physiological maturity of grain hybrids (average 120 DAP), amounts of these carbohydrates were generally unchanged in maize (9-21%) and sorghum (16-27%) suggesting a loss of photosynthetic assimilation due to weakening sink demand. Nonetheless, high amounts of non-structural carbohydrates at maturity even in grain maize and sorghum (15-18%) highlight the potential for developing dual-purpose (grain/stover) crops. For both species, the amounts of structural polysaccharides in the cell wall, measured as monomeric components (glucose and pentose), decreased during grain fill but remained unchanged thereafter with maize biomass possessing slightly higher amounts than sorghum. In conclusion, availability of carbohydrates in maize and sorghum highlights the potential for developing energy-rich dedicated biofuel or dual-purpose (grain/stover) crops.
Research Organization:
Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States). DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center
Sponsoring Organization:
Clemson University; DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER) (SC-23)
Grant/Contract Number:
FC02-07ER64494
OSTI ID:
1280815
Journal Information:
Frontiers in Plant Science, Journal Name: Frontiers in Plant Science Vol. 7; ISSN 1664-462X
Publisher:
Frontiers Research FoundationCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (46)

Application of the solid-state fermentation process and its variations in PHA production: a review journal December 2022
Use of tropical maize for bioethanol production journal March 2013
A High-Throughput Platform for Screening Milligram Quantities of Plant Biomass for Lignocellulose Digestibility journal January 2010
World crop residues production and implications of its use as a biofuel journal May 2005
Maize stover use and sustainable crop production in mixed crop–livestock systems in Mexico journal September 2013
Unique aspects of the grass cell wall journal June 2008
The Paradox of Limited Maize Stover use in India'S Smallholder Crop-Livestock Systems journal June 2011
Sucrose accumulation in sweet sorghum stem internodes in relation to growth journal June 1996
Glucanocellulosic ethanol: the undiscovered biofuel potential in energy crops and marine biomass journal September 2015
Breeding silage maize with brown-midrib genes. Feeding value and biochemical characteristics journal January 1994
Balancing supply and demand: the spatial regulation of carbon metabolism in grass and cereal leaves journal January 2003
Non-structural carbohydrate partitioning in grass stems: a target to increase yield stability, stress tolerance, and biofuel production journal June 2012
Understanding and manipulating sucrose phloem loading, unloading, metabolism, and signalling to enhance crop yield and food security journal December 2013
Effects of PHENYLALANINE AMMONIA LYASE ( PAL ) knockdown on cell wall composition, biomass digestibility, and biotic and abiotic stress responses in Brachypodium journal June 2015
tie - dyed1 Regulates Carbohydrate Accumulation in Maize Leaves journal October 2006
Genotype-Dependent Leaf Senescence in Maize: Inheritance and Effects of Pollination-Prevention journal November 1987
Metabolic regulation of leaf senescence: interactions of sugar signalling with biotic and abiotic stress responses journal September 2008
Doubled sugar content in sugarcane plants modified to produce a sucrose isomer journal January 2007
Increasing the energy density of vegetative tissues by diverting carbon from starch to oil biosynthesis in transgenic Arabidopsis journal February 2011
Ethanol production potential of sweet sorghum assessed using forage fiber analysis procedures journal August 2012
Sucrose in the Stalks of Maize Inbreds journal February 1948
Biomass Recalcitrance: Engineering Plants and Enzymes for Biofuels Production journal February 2007
A high-throughput core sampling device for the evaluation of maize stalk composition journal January 2012
Sucrose accumulation in sweet sorghum stems occurs by apoplasmic phloem unloading and does not involve differential Sucrose transporter expression journal July 2015
Sucrose Content in the Stalks of Maize Inbreds 1 journal March 1907
Contribution of Stalk Soluble Carbohydrates to Grain Yield in Corn ( Zea mays L.) 1 journal November 1969
Maize Fodder—Influence of Barrenness on Yield and Quality 1 journal May 1972
Maize Stem Tissues journal January 2006
Tropical Maize: Exploiting Maize Genetic Diversity to Develop a Novel Annual Crop for Lignocellulosic Biomass and Sugar Production book December 2010
Integrated genomics, physiology and breeding approaches for improving drought tolerance in crops journal June 2012
Effects of various conditions on the alkaline degradation of d-fructose and d-glucose journal June 1978
Importance of crop residues in crop–livestock systems in India and farmers’ perceptions of fodder quality in coarse cereals journal October 2003
Optimization of ethanol production from high dry matter liquefied dry sweet sorghum stalks journal April 2013
Alkaline degradation of invert sugar from molasses journal November 2007
Engineering of plant cell walls for enhanced biofuel production journal June 2015
The Paradox of Limited Maize Stover use in India'S Smallholder Crop-Livestock Systems journal June 2011
Genotypic variation in water-soluble carbohydrate accumulation in wheat journal January 2006
Mixed Linkage (1→3),(1→4)-β- d -Glucans of Grasses journal January 2004
Transcriptional and Metabolic Analysis of Senescence Induced by Preventing Pollination in Maize journal June 2012
The Effects of Ear Removal on Senescence and Metabolism of Maize journal November 1981
Differential Senescence of Maize Hybrids following Ear Removal: II. Selected Leaf journal February 1984
The role of carbohydrate storage and redistribution in the source-sink relations of wheat and barley during grain filling - a review journal February 1993
Contribution of Stalk Soluble Carbohydrates to Grain Yield in Corn ( Zea mays L.) 1 journal November 1969
Maize Fodder—Influence of Barrenness on Yield and Quality 1 journal May 1972
Relative Stalk Sugar Yields among Maize Populations, Cultivars, and Hybrids 1 journal September 1984
Regulation of assimilate import into sink organs: update on molecular drivers of sink strength journal January 2013

Cited By (3)

Long-Term Mesophilic Anaerobic Co-Digestion of Swine Manure with Corn Stover and Microbial Community Analysis journal January 2020
Kinetin and Indole Acetic Acid Promote Antioxidant Defense System and Reduce Oxidative Stress in Maize (Zea mays L.) Plants Grown at Boron Toxicity journal June 2018
Plasticity of Sorghum Stem Biomass Accumulation in Response to Water Deficit: A Multiscale Analysis from Internode Tissue to Plant Level journal September 2017

Similar Records

Characterization, Genetic Variation, and Combining Ability of Maize Traits Relevant to the Production of Cellulosic Ethanol
Journal Article · Wed Dec 31 23:00:00 EST 2008 · Crop Science · OSTI ID:1023063
Nutrient and carbohydrate partitioning in sorghum stover
Journal Article · · Agronomy Journal; (United States) · OSTI ID:7007522
Assaying Sorghum for Fuel Production
Book · Wed Jan 16 23:00:00 EST 2019 · OSTI ID:1492932

Related Subjects

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES
abiotic stress responses
alkaline-degradation
biofeedstocks
biofuel production
biofuels
cell-wall
crop-livestock systems
ear removal
ethanol-production
leaf senescence
maize
non-structural carbohydrates
sorghum
structural carbohydrates
sugar
yield