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Title: Structural features of alternative lignin monomers associated with improved digestibility of artificially lignified maize cell walls

Abstract

Plant biologists are seeking new approaches for modifying lignin to improve the digestion and utilization of structural polysaccharides in crop cultivars for the production of biofuels, biochemicals, and livestock. To identify promising targets for lignin bioengineering, we artificially lignified maize (Zea mays L.) cell walls with normal monolignols plus 21 structurally diverse alternative monomers to assess their suitability for lignification and for improving fiber digestibility. Lignin formation and structure were assessed by mass balance, Klason lignin, acetyl bromide lignin, gel-state 2D-NMR and thioacidolysis procedures, and digestibility was evaluated with rumen microflora and from glucose production by fungal enzymes following mild acid or base pretreatments. Highly acidic or hydrophilic monomers proved unsuitable for lignin modification because they severely depressed cell wall lignification. By contrast, monomers designed to moderately alter hydrophobicity or introduce cleavable acetal, amide, or ester functionalities into the polymer often readily formed lignin, but most failed to improve digestibility, even after chemical pretreatment. Fortunately, several types of phenylpropanoid derivatives containing multiple ester-linked catechol or pyrogallol units were identified as desirable genetic engineering targets because they readily formed wall-bound polymers and improved digestibility, presumably by blocking cross-linking of lignin to structural polysaccharides and promoting lignin fragmentation during mild acidic andmore » especially alkaline pretreatment.« less

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [2];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [3]; ORCiD logo [3];  [2];  [4]; ORCiD logo [5]; ORCiD logo [4]
  1. US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA), Madison, WI (United States). Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
  2. Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States). Dept. of Biochemistry, and D.O.E. Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, Wisconsin Energy Inst.
  3. Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States). D.O.E. Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center
  4. Department of Biochemistry, and D.O.E. Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, Wisconsin Energy Institute, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
  5. Department of Biological Systems Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States). Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
OSTI Identifier:
1546966
Grant/Contract Number:  
SC0018409
Resource Type:
Journal Article: Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Plant Science
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 287; Journal ID: ISSN 0168-9452
Publisher:
Elsevier
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES; Lignocellulosic biomass; Forage; Plant biotechnology; Ruminal fermentation; Enzymatic saccharification

Citation Formats

Grabber, John H., Davidson, Christy, Tobimatsu, Yuki, Kim, Hoon, Lu, Fachuang, Zhu, Yimin, Opietnik, Martina, Santoro, Nicholas, Foster, Cliff E., Yue, Fengxia, Ress, Dino, Pan, Xuejun, and Ralph, John. Structural features of alternative lignin monomers associated with improved digestibility of artificially lignified maize cell walls. United States: N. p., 2019. Web. doi:10.1016/j.plantsci.2019.02.004.
Grabber, John H., Davidson, Christy, Tobimatsu, Yuki, Kim, Hoon, Lu, Fachuang, Zhu, Yimin, Opietnik, Martina, Santoro, Nicholas, Foster, Cliff E., Yue, Fengxia, Ress, Dino, Pan, Xuejun, & Ralph, John. Structural features of alternative lignin monomers associated with improved digestibility of artificially lignified maize cell walls. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plantsci.2019.02.004
Grabber, John H., Davidson, Christy, Tobimatsu, Yuki, Kim, Hoon, Lu, Fachuang, Zhu, Yimin, Opietnik, Martina, Santoro, Nicholas, Foster, Cliff E., Yue, Fengxia, Ress, Dino, Pan, Xuejun, and Ralph, John. 2019. "Structural features of alternative lignin monomers associated with improved digestibility of artificially lignified maize cell walls". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plantsci.2019.02.004. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1546966.
@article{osti_1546966,
title = {Structural features of alternative lignin monomers associated with improved digestibility of artificially lignified maize cell walls},
author = {Grabber, John H. and Davidson, Christy and Tobimatsu, Yuki and Kim, Hoon and Lu, Fachuang and Zhu, Yimin and Opietnik, Martina and Santoro, Nicholas and Foster, Cliff E. and Yue, Fengxia and Ress, Dino and Pan, Xuejun and Ralph, John},
abstractNote = {Plant biologists are seeking new approaches for modifying lignin to improve the digestion and utilization of structural polysaccharides in crop cultivars for the production of biofuels, biochemicals, and livestock. To identify promising targets for lignin bioengineering, we artificially lignified maize (Zea mays L.) cell walls with normal monolignols plus 21 structurally diverse alternative monomers to assess their suitability for lignification and for improving fiber digestibility. Lignin formation and structure were assessed by mass balance, Klason lignin, acetyl bromide lignin, gel-state 2D-NMR and thioacidolysis procedures, and digestibility was evaluated with rumen microflora and from glucose production by fungal enzymes following mild acid or base pretreatments. Highly acidic or hydrophilic monomers proved unsuitable for lignin modification because they severely depressed cell wall lignification. By contrast, monomers designed to moderately alter hydrophobicity or introduce cleavable acetal, amide, or ester functionalities into the polymer often readily formed lignin, but most failed to improve digestibility, even after chemical pretreatment. Fortunately, several types of phenylpropanoid derivatives containing multiple ester-linked catechol or pyrogallol units were identified as desirable genetic engineering targets because they readily formed wall-bound polymers and improved digestibility, presumably by blocking cross-linking of lignin to structural polysaccharides and promoting lignin fragmentation during mild acidic and especially alkaline pretreatment.},
doi = {10.1016/j.plantsci.2019.02.004},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1546966}, journal = {Plant Science},
issn = {0168-9452},
number = ,
volume = 287,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Mar 13 00:00:00 EDT 2019},
month = {Wed Mar 13 00:00:00 EDT 2019}
}

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