Molecular Breeding for Improved Second Generation Bioenergy Crops

Allwright, Michael; Taylor, Gail

doi:10.1016/j.tplants.2015.10.002

Cited by 81 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 124 publications

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“…Clones having conservative nutrient use strategies or having leaf litter that can induce positive feedbacks on soil fertility could be used to achieve interesting yields on the more marginal sites. Such a strategy would be more sustainable than the use of fertilisers, which have important economic and environmental costs [8,9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Linking Biomass Productivity to Genotype-Specific Nutrient Cycling Strategies in Mature Hybrid Poplars Planted Along an Environmental Gradient

2017

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This study used three hybrid poplar (Populus × spp.) clones (13 years old) with different parentages planted in three abandoned farmland sites along a regional gradient of elevation and soil fertility in southern Québec (Canada). We evaluated the effects of plantation site and clone on nutrient concentrations in green foliage and leaf litter, on leaf litter mass remaining, on soil properties and on biomass yield. Green foliage and leaf litter nutrient concentrations, and litter decomposition, are under strong genetic and environmental control in hybrid poplars. Clone-specific correlation patterns between green foliage and leaf litter nutrient concentrations were observed, as well as between soil nutrient availability and foliage or leaf litter nutrient concentrations. Despite the wide variations in soil nutrient availability and elevation between sites, only the clone effect was significant on biomass yield. An increase in N and P resorption proficiency with declining soil NO 3 and P availability, observed in all clones, could explain stable yields of each clone across sites. The most productive clones (DN × M-915508 and M × B-915311) were more proficient at resorbing N, P and K, while the least productive clone (D × N-131) had the highest N, P and K concentrations in green foliage and in litter. The ability of clone M × B-915311 to maintain high litter Ca and Mg concentrations on sites with soil characterised by lower pH, lower base saturation and lower nutrient availability (NO 3 , P, Ca and Mg) may also be linked to its high and stable productivity. Differences in litter quality between clones did not yield significant differences in soil properties or in litter mass remaining after 2 years. However, short-term decay trajectories varied between clones. As litter mass remaining was strongly correlated to elevation, the plantation site significantly affected leaf litter mass remaining, which ranged from 4.5 to 35.5% between sites after 2 years.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Linking Biomass Productivity to Genotype-Specific Nutrient Cycling Strategies in Mature Hybrid Poplars Planted Along an Environmental Gradient

2017

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“…Mapping pedigrees and genetic linkage maps [10–13] exist for a number of Populus species [14] and the P. trichocarpa genome, which at around 550 Mb is small for a forest tree [15], has been fully sequenced [16]. A number of bioinformatics tools assist in the exploration and utilisation of these genetic and genomic resources; including PopGenIE [17] and POParray [18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most recently Populus became the first forest tree for which CRISPR/Cas genome editing has been successfully demonstrated [19]. This offers significant potential and suggests that candidate genes identified for traits of interest could be progressed rapidly to commercialisation using such accelerated molecular breeding approaches [14]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biomass traits and candidate genes for bioenergy revealed through association genetics in coppiced European Populus nigra (L.)

Allwright

Payne

Emiliani

et al. 2016

Biotechnol Biofuels

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BackgroundSecond generation (2G) bioenergy from lignocellulosic feedstocks has the potential to develop as a sustainable source of renewable energy; however, significant hurdles still remain for large-scale commercialisation. Populus is considered as a promising 2G feedstock and understanding the genetic basis of biomass yield and feedstock quality are a research priority in this model tree species.ResultsWe report the first coppiced biomass study for 714 members of a wide population of European black poplar (Populus nigra L.), a native European tree, selected from 20 river populations ranging in latitude and longitude between 40.5 and 52.1°N and 1.0 and 16.4°E, respectively. When grown at a single site in southern UK, significant Site of Origin (SO) effects were seen for 14 of the 15 directly measured or derived traits including biomass yield, leaf area and stomatal index. There was significant correlation (p < 0.001) between biomass yield traits over 3 years of harvest which identified leaf size and cell production as strong predictors of biomass yield. A 12 K Illumina genotyping array (constructed from 10,331 SNPs in 14 QTL regions and 4648 genes) highlighted significant population genetic structure with pairwise FST showing strong differentiation (p < 0.001) between the Spanish and Italian subpopulations. Robust associations reaching genome-wide significance are reported for main stem height and cell number per leaf; two traits tightly linked to biomass yield. These genotyping and phenotypic data were also used to show the presence of significant isolation by distance (IBD) and isolation by adaption (IBA) within this population.ConclusionsThe three associations identified reaching genome-wide significance at p < 0.05 include a transcription factor; a putative stress response gene and a gene of unknown function. None of them have been previously linked to bioenergy yield; were shown to be differentially expressed in a panel of three selected genotypes from the collection and represent exciting, novel candidates for further study in a bioenergy tree native to Europe and Euro-Asia. A further 26 markers (22 genes) were found to reach putative significance and are also of interest for biomass yield, leaf area, epidermal cell expansion and stomatal patterning. This research on European P. nigra provides an important foundation for the development of commercial native trees for bioenergy and for advanced, molecular breeding in these species.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13068-016-0603-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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“…There are technological and political advancements triggering the increase in lignocellulosic feedstocks for secondgeneration bioenergy (biomass technology) (Allwright and Taylor 2016;Stolarski et al 2015;Chum et al 2015) ( Table 5). Aside from integrating these feedstocks directly with traditional crops such as grains or grass in agroforestry, short-rotation coppices (SRCs) with trees and Miscanthus monocultures are discussed and already implemented to a small degree.…”

Section: Integration Of Lignocellulosic Cropsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pressures on soil functions from soil management in Germany. A foresight review

Techen

Helming

2017

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

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Global trends in demand for biomass-based food, feed, energy, and fiber call for a sustainable intensification of agricultural production. From the perspective of sustaining soil functions, this implies the integration of soil productivity with the other soil functions and services, namely carbon sequestration, water purification and retention, and nutrient and matter cycling as well as biodiversity. Soil management is the key to this integration. The proper anticipation of future opportunities and challenges for sustainable soil management requires an analysis of drivers and trends affecting soil management. Here, we review drivers and trends of soil management and their relevance for soil functions taking Germany as an example of industrialized agricultural systems with low yield gaps. We analyzed socio-economic, biophysical and technological drivers and identified two types of future management changes: (1) Quantitative changes, i.e., more or less of the same input factors, such as fertilizers, as part of a moderate intensification. (2) Qualitative changes: There, we found the strongest signals for the following practices: higher precision and lightweight machines triggered by information and communication technology (ICT) and robotics; diversification of crop rotations, including the integration of lignocellulosic crops; inoculation with biota; and new crop varieties. Positive practices may be reinforced by a behavioral trend towards sustainable soil management, driven by increasing awareness, knowledge, and consumer demand. They offer opportunities for relieving mechanical pressures from weight and contact stress, chemical pressures from pesticides and fertilizers and promoting soil biodiversity without compromising the soil's production function. We also found threats, such as increased removal of organic residues and potentially harmful organisms. This foresight study is the first to delineate opportunities and challenges for sustainable soil management and intensification. It informs researchers who intend to improve the knowledge base for reinforcement of positive and mitigation of negative trends of soil management.

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Molecular Breeding for Improved Second Generation Bioenergy Crops

Cited by 81 publications

References 124 publications

Linking Biomass Productivity to Genotype-Specific Nutrient Cycling Strategies in Mature Hybrid Poplars Planted Along an Environmental Gradient

Linking Biomass Productivity to Genotype-Specific Nutrient Cycling Strategies in Mature Hybrid Poplars Planted Along an Environmental Gradient

Biomass traits and candidate genes for bioenergy revealed through association genetics in coppiced European Populus nigra (L.)

Pressures on soil functions from soil management in Germany. A foresight review

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