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Major transitions can be expected within the next few decades aiming at the reduction of pollution and global warming and at energy saving measures. For these purposes, new sustainable biorefinery concepts will be needed that will replace the traditional mineral oil-based synthesis of specialty and bulk chemicals. An important group of these chemicals are those that comprise N-functionalities. Many plant components contained in biomass rest or waste stream fractions contain these N-functionalities in proteins and free amino acids that can be used as starting materials for the synthesis of biopolymers and chemicals. This paper describes the economic and technological feasibility for cyanophycin production by fermentation of the potato waste stream Protamylasse™ or directly in plants and its subsequent conversion to a number of N-containing bulk chemicals.

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Secreted arabinogalactan proteins (AGPs), isolated on the basis of speci®c epitopes, have been reported that can either enhance (ZUM18 AGP fraction) or inhibit (ZUM15 AGP fraction) carrot (Daucus carota L.) somatic embryo development (Kreuger and van Holst, 1995, Planta 197: 135±141). Here, we report that addition of the ZUM18 AGP fraction to dierent size-fractionated cell populations isolated from embryogenic carrot suspension cultures does not show a signi®cant eect on the frequency and the morphology of the somatic embryos produced. An AGP fraction containing the JIM8 epitope showed an inhibitory eect on the frequency of somatic embryo development from single cells. Addition of carrot-seed AGPs to nonembryogenic cell suspensions did not directly promote embryogenic competence in the suspension culture. Only after enrichment for cell clusters and removal of most of the single cells was an increase in embryogenic competence observed. These results indicate that cell type composition in suspension cultures is important for evaluating the eect of exogenous AGPs.Abbreviations: AGP = arabinogalactan protein; B5-0 = Gamborg's B5 medium; B5-0.2 = Gamborg's B5 medium supplemented with 0.2 lM 2,4-D; 2,4-D = 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid; JIM8, ZUM15, ZUM18 = epitopes of AGP Correspondence

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