SummaryIn the near future, grasses must provide most of the biomass for the production of renewable fuels. However, grass cell walls are characterized by a large quantity of hydroxycinnamic acids such as ferulic and p-coumaric acids, which are thought to reduce the biomass saccharification. Ferulic acid (FA) binds to lignin, polysaccharides and structural proteins of grass cell walls cross-linking these components. A controlled reduction of FA level or of FA cross-linkages in plants of industrial interest can improve the production of cellulosic ethanol. Here, we review the biosynthesis and roles of FA in cell wall architecture and in grass biomass recalcitrance to enzyme hydrolysis.

Cinnamic acid is a known allelochemical that affects seed germination and plant root growth and therefore influences several metabolic processes. In the present work, we evaluated its effects on growth, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) oxidase and cinnamate 4-hydroxylase (C4H) activities and lignin monomer composition in soybean (Glycine max) roots. The results revealed that exogenously applied cinnamic acid inhibited root growth and increased IAA oxidase and C4H activities. The allelochemical increased the total lignin content, thus altering the sum and ratios of the p-hydroxyphenyl (H), guaiacyl (G), and syringyl (S) lignin monomers. When applied alone or with cinnamic acid, piperonylic acid (PIP, a quasi-irreversible inhibitor of C4H) reduced C4H activity, lignin and the H, G, S monomer content compared to the cinnamic acid treatment. Taken together, these results indicate that exogenously applied cinnamic acid can be channeled into the phenylpropanoid pathway via the C4H reaction, resulting in an increase in H lignin. In conjunction with enhanced IAA oxidase activity, these metabolic responses lead to the stiffening of the cell wall and are followed by a reduction in soybean root growth.

The structural polysaccharides contained in plant cell walls have been pointed to as a promising renewable alternative to petroleum and natural gas. Ferulic acid is a ubiquitous component of plant polysaccharides, which is found in either monomeric or dimeric forms and is covalently linked to arabinosyl residues. Ferulic acid has several commercial applications in food and pharmaceutical industries. The study herein introduces a novel feruloyl esterase from Aspergillus clavatus (AcFAE). Along with a comprehensive functional and biophysical characterization, the low-resolution structure of this enzyme was also determined by small-angle X-ray scattering. In addition, we described the production of phenolic compounds with antioxidant capacity from wheat arabinoxylan and sugarcane bagasse using AcFAE. The ability to specifically cleave ester linkages in hemicellulose is useful in several biotechnological applications, including improved accessibility to lignocellulosic enzymes for biofuel production.

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Cinnamic acid and its hydroxylated derivatives (p-coumaric, caffeic, ferulic and sinapic acids) are known allelochemicals that affect the seed germination and root growth of many plant species. Recent studies have indicated that the reduction of root growth by these allelochemicals is associated with premature cell wall lignification. We hypothesized that an influx of these compounds into the phenylpropanoid pathway increases the lignin monomer content and reduces the root growth. To confirm this hypothesis, we evaluated the effects of cinnamic, p-coumaric, caffeic, ferulic and sinapic acids on soybean root growth, lignin and the composition of p-hydroxyphenyl (H), guaiacyl (G) and syringyl (S) monomers. To this end, three-day-old seedlings were cultivated in nutrient solution with or without allelochemical (or selective enzymatic inhibitors of the phenylpropanoid pathway) in a growth chamber for 24 h. In general, the results showed that 1) cinnamic, p-coumaric, caffeic and ferulic acids reduced root growth and increased lignin content; 2) cinnamic and p-coumaric acids increased p-hydroxyphenyl (H) monomer content, whereas p-coumaric, caffeic and ferulic acids increased guaiacyl (G) content, and sinapic acid increased sinapyl (S) content; 3) when applied in conjunction with piperonylic acid (PIP, an inhibitor of the cinnamate 4-hydroxylase, C4H), cinnamic acid reduced H, G and S contents; and 4) when applied in conjunction with 3,4-(methylenedioxy)cinnamic acid (MDCA, an inhibitor of the 4-coumarate:CoA ligase, 4CL), p-coumaric acid reduced H, G and S contents, whereas caffeic, ferulic and sinapic acids reduced G and S contents. These results confirm our hypothesis that exogenously applied allelochemicals are channeled into the phenylpropanoid pathway causing excessive production of lignin and its main monomers. By consequence, an enhanced stiffening of the cell wall restricts soybean root growth.