Summary Feruloylation of arabinoxylan (AX) in grass cell walls is a key determinant of recalcitrance to enzyme attack, making it a target for improvement of grass crops, and of interest in grass evolution. Definitive evidence on the genes responsible is lacking so we studied a candidate gene that we identified within the BAHD acyl‐CoA transferase family.We used RNA interference (RNAi) silencing of orthologs in the model grasses Setaria viridis (SvBAHD01) and Brachypodium distachyon (BdBAHD01) and determined effects on AX feruloylation.Silencing of SvBAHD01 in Setaria resulted in a c. 60% decrease in AX feruloylation in stems consistently across four generations. Silencing of BdBAHD01 in Brachypodium stems decreased feruloylation much less, possibly due to higher expression of functionally redundant genes. Setaria SvBAHD01 RNAi plants showed: no decrease in total lignin, approximately doubled arabinose acylated by p‐coumarate, changes in two‐dimensional NMR spectra of unfractionated cell walls consistent with biochemical estimates, no effect on total biomass production and an increase in biomass saccharification efficiency of 40–60%.We provide the first strong evidence for a key role of the BAHD01 gene in AX feruloylation and demonstrate that it is a promising target for improvement of grass crops for biofuel, biorefining and animal nutrition applications.

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Real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) expression analysis is a powerful analytical technique, but reliable results depend on the use of stable reference genes for proper normalization. This study proposed to test the expression stability of 13 candidate reference genes in Setaria viridis, a monocot species recently proposed as a new C4 model plant. Gene expression stability of these genes was assayed across different tissues and developmental stages of Setaria and under drought or aluminum stress. In general, our results showed Protein Kinase, RNA Binding Protein and SDH as the most stable genes. Moreover, pairwise analysis showed that two reference genes were sufficient to normalize the gene expression data under each condition. By contrast, GAPDH and ACT were the least stably expressed genes tested. Validation of suitable reference genes was carried out to profile the expression of P5CS and GolS during abiotic stress. In addition, normalization of gene expression of SuSy, involved in sugar metabolism, was assayed in the developmental dataset. This study provides a list of reliable reference genes for transcript normalization in S. viridis in different tissues and stages of development and under abiotic stresses, which will facilitate genetic studies in this monocot model plant.

Setaria viridis was recently described as a new monocotyledonous model species for C4 photosynthesis research and genetic transformation. It has biological attributes (rapid life cycle, small genome, diploid, short stature and simple growth requirements) that make it suitable for use as a model plant. We report an alternative method of S. viridis transformation using floral dip to circumvent the necessity of tissue culture phase for transgenic plant regeneration. S. viridis spikes at boot stage were selected to be immersed in Agrobacterium suspension. T1 seeds could be identified in 1.5–2 months after floral dipping. We demonstrated through molecular analysis and RFP expression that seeds and resulting plants from dipped inflorescences were transformed. Our results suggest the feasibility of S. viridis floral dip transformation as a time-saving and cost-effective compared with traditional methods. To our knowledge, this is the first report using floral dip in S. viridis as an Agrobacterium-mediated transformation method.

RESUMO:Conduziu-se este trabalho com o objetivo de testar diferentes estratégias e metodologias de coleta de dados, a fim de realizar ajustes de modelos hipsométricos tradicionais e genéricos para melhor estimar a altura de árvores em plantios de Eucalyptus sp. Foram coletados pares de altura e diâmetro de árvores distribuídas em 36 parcelas, provenientes de plantios pertencentes à empresa Veracel Celulose S.A. Essas foram divididas em diferentes tratamentos conforme idade, região, e combinação de região e idade do plantio, totalizando 14 tratamentos. As metodologias de coleta de dados consistiram na utilização de diferentes números de árvores com medição de altura para formação da base de dados para realização dos ajustes. Foi selecionando como melhor estratégia de ajuste, o modelo de Curtis por parcela e dois modelos genéricos para as diferentes metodologias adotadas, com exceção da metodologia baseada em adição de árvores representativas em todos os quartis diamétricos, que selecionou apenas a estratégia de Curtis por parcela.Palavras-chave: Relação hipsométrica, inventário florestal, modelos tradicionais, modelos genéricos. STRATEGIES AND METHODOLOGYS FOR ADJUSTMENT OF HYPSOMETRIC MODELS OF

The production and use of sugarcane in Brazil is very important for bioenergy production and is recognized as one of the most efficient in the world. In our laboratory, Setaria viridis is being tested as a model plant for sugarcane. S. viridis has biological attributes (rapid life cycle, small genome, diploid, short stature and simple growth requirements) that make it suitable for use as a model system. We report a highly efficient protocol for Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation of S. viridis. The optimization of several steps in tissue culture allowed the rapid regeneration of plants and increased the rate of transformation up to 29%. This protocol could become a powerful tool for functional genomics in sugarcane.

Background Sugarcane ( Saccharum spp.) covers vast areas of land (around 25 million ha worldwide), and its processing is already linked into infrastructure for producing bioethanol in many countries. This makes it an ideal candidate for improving composition of its residues (mostly cell walls), making them more suitable for cellulosic ethanol production. In this paper, we report an approach to improving saccharification of sugarcane straw by RNAi silencing of the recently discovered BAHD01 gene responsible for feruloylation of grass cell walls. Results We identified six BAHD genes in the sugarcane genome (Sac BAHD s) and generated five lines with substantially decreased SacBAHD01 expression. To find optimal conditions for determining saccharification of sugarcane straw, we tried multiple combinations of solvent and temperature pretreatment conditions, devising a predictive model for finding their effects on glucose release. Under optimal conditions, demonstrated by Organosolv pretreatment using 30% ethanol for 240 min, transgenic lines showed increases in saccharification efficiency of up to 24%. The three lines with improved saccharification efficiency had lower cell-wall ferulate content but unchanged monosaccharide and lignin compositions. Conclusions The silencing of SacBAHD01 gene and subsequent decrease of cell-wall ferulate contents indicate a promising novel biotechnological approach for improving the suitability of sugarcane residues for cellulosic ethanol production. In addition, the Organosolv pretreatment of the genetically modified biomass and the optimal conditions for the enzymatic hydrolysis presented here might be incorporated in the sugarcane industry for bioethanol production. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13068-019-1450-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

RESUMOO setor florestal brasileiro está em plena expansão e com um aumento gradativo de investidores florestais optando pelo cultivo de espécies de madeira nobre. O mogno africano (Khaya spp.) é uma espécie que vêm se destacando na preferência dos empresários como opção no investimento florestal. Porém, estudos e pesquisas sobre a espécie, principalmente no Brasil, são escassos. Assim, a presente revisão procurou reunir diversas fontes de publicação, nacionais e internacionais, abordando aspectos históricos do mogno, buscando aclarar as características da espécie e a experiência de outros países no manejo dessa cultura.Palavras-chave: mogno africano (Khaya spp.), plantios florestais, manejo florestal.African Mahogany (Khaya spp.) Cultivation and the Increase of the Activity in Brazil ABSTRACTThe Brazilian forest sector is fast growing with a gradual increase of forest investors choosing valuable hardwood species for tree crops. African mahogany (Khaya spp.) is a species that has been preferred by many entrepreneurs as a forestry investment. However, there are few studies and research on the species, especially in Brazil. Therefore, this review aimed to bring together diverse sources of national and international publications, discussing the history of the mahogany and characteristics of the species as well as the experience of other countries on the management of this crop.