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Title: Reduction of ethanol yield from switchgrass infected with rust caused by Puccinia emaculata

Journal Article · · BioEnergy Research
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [3];  [1];  [4];  [5];  [6]
  1. Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
  2. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); White Cliff Biosystems, Rockwood, TN (United States)
  3. Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States); Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  4. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Center for Renewable Carbon, Knoxville, TN (United States)
  5. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  6. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Genomatica Inc., San Diego, CA (United States)
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Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) is an important biofuel crop candidate thought to have low disease susceptibility. As switchgrass production becomes more prevalent, monoculture and production fields in close proximity to one another may increase the spread and severity of diseases such as switchgrass rust caused by the pathogen Puccinia emaculata. The objective of this research was to examine the impact of rust on ethanol yield in switchgrass. In 2010 and 2012, naturally infected leaves from field-grown 'Alamo' and 'Kanlow' in Knoxville, TN (2010, 2012) and Crossville, TN (2012) were visually categorized as exhibiting low, medium, or high disease based on the degree of chlorosis and sporulation. P. emaculata was isolated from each disease range to confirm infection. Samples from 2010 were acid/heat pretreated and subjected to two runs of simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) with Saccharomyces cerevisiae D5A to measure ethanol yield. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) was used to estimate ethanol yield for 2012 samples. SSF and NIRS data were analyzed separately using ANOVA. Disease level effects were significant within both models (P < 0.05) and both models explained a large amount of variation in ETOH (SSF: R2 = 0.99, NIRS: R2 = 0.99). In the SSF dataset, ethanol was reduced by 35 % in samples exhibiting medium disease symptoms and by 55 % in samples exhibiting high disease symptoms. In the NIRS dataset, estimated ethanol was reduced by 10 % in samples exhibiting medium disease symptoms and by 21 % in samples exhibiting high disease symptoms. Lastly, results indicate that switchgrass rust will likely have a negative impact on ethanol yield in switchgrass grown as a biofuel crop.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). BioEnergy Science Center (BESC)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
1327741
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1348317
Journal Information:
BioEnergy Research, Vol. 9, Issue 1; ISSN 1939-1234
Publisher:
SpringerCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 18 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (6)

New insight into the species diversity and life cycles of rust fungi (Pucciniales) affecting bioenergy switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) in the Eastern and Central United States journal October 2018
QTL × environment interactions underlie adaptive divergence in switchgrass across a large latitudinal gradient journal June 2019
Rust fungi on Panicum journal January 2017
The Genetic Basis of Upland/Lowland Ecotype Divergence in Switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum) journal September 2016
Effect of Puccinia silphii on Yield Components and Leaf Physiology in Silphium integrifolium: Lessons for the Domestication of a Perennial Oilseed Crop journal March 2018
Transcriptome divergence during leaf development in two contrasting switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) cultivars journal September 2019

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Related Subjects

09 BIOMASS FUELS
60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
NIRS
rust
Puccinia emaculata
switchgrass
ethanol
SSF
Panicum virgatum