Engineering of plant cell walls for enhanced biofuel production

Abstract

The biomass of plants consists predominately of cell walls, a sophisticated composite material composed of various polymer networks including numerous polysaccharides and the polyphenol lignin. In order to utilize this renewable, highly abundant resource for the production of commodity chemicals such as biofuels, major hurdles have to be surpassed to reach economical viability. Recently, major advances in the basic understanding of the synthesis of the various wall polymers and its regulation has enabled strategies to alter the qualitative composition of wall materials. Such emerging strategies include a reduction/alteration of the lignin network to enhance polysaccharide accessibility, reduction of polymer derived processing inhibitors, and increases in polysaccharides with a high hexose/pentose ratio.

Overexpression of a rice BAHD acyltransferase gene in switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) enhances saccharification

“…For example, researchers have reduced lignin content, altered lignin composition, structure and distribution in the cell wall [6–8], reduced inhibitors derived from biomass [9], increased the abundance of easily fermentable sugars [10, 11], and manipulated other components of the plant cell wall such as hemicellulose and pectin [12–14]. Genes controlling lignin biosynthesis that have been used in switchgrass engineering include 4-coumarate: coenzymeA ligase (4CL) [15], cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD) [16], and caffeic acid O-methyltransferase (COMT) [17–19].…”

Two Trichome Birefringence-Like Proteins Mediate Xylan Acetylation, Which Is Essential for Leaf Blight Resistance in Rice

“…O-acetylation of wall polymers also represents a major obstacle to the economic conversion of lignocellulosics to biofuel (Loqué et al, 2015). Here, we examined the saccharification efficiency of lignocellulosic material derived from ostbl1, ostbl2, and the tbl1 tbl2 double mutants.…”

Bioconvection nanofluid slip flow past a wavy surface with applications in nano-biofuel cells

“…Examples of this geometric modification include irregular or wavy surfaces which have been successfully used in a wide spectrum of technological applications including microbial fuel cell walls [4,5], plant engineering-inspired bio fuel production [6,7] and solar collectors. The wavy surface may be vertical/inclined or horizontal depending upon its application.…”

“…The present work is aimed at further elucidating the near-wall transport phenomena encountered in bio-nanofluid fuel cells [2][3][4][5][6][7].…”