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Designer biomass for next-generation biorefineries: leveraging recent insights into xylan structure and biosynthesis.

ABSTRACT: Xylans are the most abundant noncellulosic polysaccharides in lignified secondary cell walls of woody dicots and in both primary and secondary cell walls of grasses. These polysaccharides, which comprise 20-35% of terrestrial biomass, present major challenges for the efficient microbial bioconversion of lignocellulosic feedstocks to fuels and other value-added products. Xylans play a significant role in the recalcitrance of biomass to degradation, and their bioconversion requires metabolic pathways that are distinct from those used to metabolize cellulose. In this review, we discuss the key differences in the structural features of xylans across diverse plant species, how these features affect their interactions with cellulose and lignin, and recent developments in understanding their biosynthesis. In particular, we focus on how the combined structural and biosynthetic knowledge can be used as a basis for biomass engineering aimed at developing crops that are better suited as feedstocks for the bioconversion industry.

SUBMITTER: Smith PJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5708106 | biostudies-other | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Designer biomass for next-generation biorefineries: leveraging recent insights into xylan structure and biosynthesis.

Smith Peter J PJ Wang Hsin-Tzu HT York William S WS Peña Maria J MJ Urbanowicz Breeanna R BR

Biotechnology for biofuels 20171130

Xylans are the most abundant noncellulosic polysaccharides in lignified secondary cell walls of woody dicots and in both primary and secondary cell walls of grasses. These polysaccharides, which comprise 20-35% of terrestrial biomass, present major challenges for the efficient microbial bioconversion of lignocellulosic feedstocks to fuels and other value-added products. Xylans play a significant role in the recalcitrance of biomass to degradation, and their bioconversion requires metabolic pathw ...[more]

PMID: 29213325

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Project description:BackgroundXylan is a major hemicellulosic component in the cell walls of higher plants especially in the secondary walls of vascular cells which are playing important roles in physiological processes and overall mechanical strength. Being the second most abundant cell wall polymer after cellulose, xylan is an abundant non-cellulosic carbohydrate constituent of plant biomass. Xylan structures have been demonstrated to contribute to plant biomass recalcitrance during bioenergy applications. A critical understanding of xylan composition, structure, and biosynthesis in developing plant stems will allow an increased understanding of how cell walls are put together in this organ in a basic research, and, in applied research, will improve strategies in xylan engineering to reduce biomass recalcitrance for economically feasible biofuel production.MethodsWe describe an approach to enable the monitoring of xylan epitope structures in cell walls during the stem maturation process in Arabidopsis. The technique integrates glycome profiling, an in vitro immunoanalytical platform, and in situ immunolocalisation to provide comprehensive details on the presence, relative abundances, and dynamics with which diverse xylan epitope structures are integrated to the cell walls throughout the stem maturation process.ResultsOur experimental results and the supporting in silico analysis demonstrated that xylan deposition in stems occurs early on in stem development; however, xylan epitope types (representing substituted and unsubstituted regions on xylan backbone made of β-(1,4)-linked xylose residues) and the strength of their integration into the final wall structure vary during stem maturation.ConclusionsOur novel approach thus provides a method to comprehensively survey the differences in xylan epitope patterning and deposition occurring in stem development and thereby providing a robust tool for characterising altered xylan integration patterns in cell walls during the stem maturation process in diverse plant cell wall biosynthetic mutants. Our findings also suggest that this approach could rapidly and reliably delineate xylan deposition patterns in the cell walls of plants belonging to diverse phylogenetic classes providing novel insights into the functional roles of xylans in overall growth and development.

Dataset Information

Designer biomass for next-generation biorefineries: leveraging recent insights into xylan structure and biosynthesis.

Publications

Designer biomass for next-generation biorefineries: leveraging recent insights into xylan structure and biosynthesis.

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