14CONFAP UNDERSTANDING CELL WALL STRUCTURE AND HYDROLYSIS OF TWO LEADING C4 BIOENERGY CROPS TO IMPROVE SECOND GENERATION BIOETHANOL PRODUCTION
Lead Research Organisation:
University of York
Department Name: Biology
Abstract
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Technical Summary
WP1: Tailored enzyme cocktails matching feedstock & pretreatment. The aim will be to provide preliminary data on the potential of cocktail-feedstock-pretreatment matching. Commercial bagasse samples will undergo different pretreatments and hydrolysis with tailored enzyme cocktails and a commercial cocktail as reference. Pretreatments and tailored cocktail compositions will be selected based on expertise and scoping exercises.
WP2: Engineering the hydrolytic enzymes and feedstocks of the future. Synthetic biology offers exciting opportunities to facilitate the release of sugars from plant biomass. The Dr Buckeridge group has fully characterized a cell wall modification system active during gas space (aerenchyma) formation in sugarcane root development. We will seek to provide proof of concept that by increasing cell wall separation and porosity with enzymes specific for grass walls, a biological pretreatment could lead to an increase in accessibility to the other polymers of the cell wall. We will also organize a workshop to effectively capture the potential of synthetic biology approaches.
WP3: Effect of environmental and genetic factors on cell wall biomass quality and conversion. The composition and architecture of cell wall biomass can differ significantly depending on tissue, species, cultivar, and environmental conditions. We will utilize facilities at the National Plant Phenomics Centre (NPPC-Aberystwyth) to begin assessment of this variation. Selected sugarcane and Miscanthus varieties will be grown in different soil types to mimic fertile, semi-fertile and poor conditions. Plants will undergo detailed phenotyping in the NPCC during different water treatments (severe drought, moderate drought and well watered). Harvested samples will undergo cell wall phenotyping. The integration of data will provide essential information on how differences in biomass tissue, genetics, and environmental conditions impact on cell wall quality and biomass deconstruction.
WP2: Engineering the hydrolytic enzymes and feedstocks of the future. Synthetic biology offers exciting opportunities to facilitate the release of sugars from plant biomass. The Dr Buckeridge group has fully characterized a cell wall modification system active during gas space (aerenchyma) formation in sugarcane root development. We will seek to provide proof of concept that by increasing cell wall separation and porosity with enzymes specific for grass walls, a biological pretreatment could lead to an increase in accessibility to the other polymers of the cell wall. We will also organize a workshop to effectively capture the potential of synthetic biology approaches.
WP3: Effect of environmental and genetic factors on cell wall biomass quality and conversion. The composition and architecture of cell wall biomass can differ significantly depending on tissue, species, cultivar, and environmental conditions. We will utilize facilities at the National Plant Phenomics Centre (NPPC-Aberystwyth) to begin assessment of this variation. Selected sugarcane and Miscanthus varieties will be grown in different soil types to mimic fertile, semi-fertile and poor conditions. Plants will undergo detailed phenotyping in the NPCC during different water treatments (severe drought, moderate drought and well watered). Harvested samples will undergo cell wall phenotyping. The integration of data will provide essential information on how differences in biomass tissue, genetics, and environmental conditions impact on cell wall quality and biomass deconstruction.
Planned Impact
N/A
Organisations
Publications
Da Costa RMF
(2019)
Nutrient and drought stress: implications for phenology and biomass quality in miscanthus.
in Annals of botany
Grandis A
(2019)
Cell wall hydrolases act in concert during aerenchyma development in sugarcane roots.
in Annals of botany
Grandis A
(2020)
Senna reticulata: a Viable Option for Bioenergy Production in the Amazonian Region
in BioEnergy Research
| Description | WP:1We have tested three different temperature regimes on three different gentypes of miscanthus, establishing the optimal conditions to facilitate the enzymatic deconstruction of this energy crop. We have subsequently tested three different commercial enzyme mixtures, completing a multivariate optimisation for processing miscanthus. In brief, EMI11 was observed to have the greatest increase in saccharification with increasing pretreatment temperature. The cell wall composition data will establish the resong for these differences between genotypesto complement this data. WP2: One of the main findings related to these work-packages is that we have shown that a biological pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse with a pectinase can improve the subsequent saccharification efficiency by up to 80%. This very exciting finding highlights the potential of targeted biological pretreatment approaches. The next step will be to refine these biological pretreatment approaches with the challenge of generating higher quantities of biologically active enzymes. WP3: Ibers has performed a controlled stress experiment in which three different genotypes of the Miscanthus bioenergy crop where exposed to different watering and nutrient conditions. Phenotyping data using NPPC facilities showed that different combinations of stress result in distinct growth/physiological effects and also highlighted differences between the genotypes. We analysed the impact of these environmental conditions on the recalcitrance of biomass. The saccharification was determined using the automated platform at the University of York. The results highlight significant differences in sugar release from plant biomass depending on genotype, stress treatment and tissue origin. These are very important findings, in particular considering the projected changes in climate conditions and the envisaged strategy of growing bioenergy crops on marginal, nutrient poor, land. |
| Exploitation Route | Finding on recalcitrance differences between genotyopes and environment will be further explored in terms of cell wall composition. We believe that the outcomes from this project will provide a very strong case for future collaborative grant applications involving the partners of this award. The collaboration established continued until 2020 with publications added to the prject outcomes |
| Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Energy,Environment |
| URL | https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12155-020-10176-x#citeas |
| Description | The work produced during the award has been written into a manuscript that was submitted at the end of 2017. The publication of these results will impact in the wider scientific community. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2017 |
| Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink |
| Description | FAPESP Fellowship for a visiting researcher from CTBE |
| Amount | R$ 40,000 (BRL) |
| Organisation | São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Brazil |
| Start | 05/2016 |
| End | 05/2017 |
| Description | Workshop In cell wall deconstruction |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Workshop at IBERS, Aberysthwyth, with participants from razil and the UK |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Workshop Tailoring Cell wall for a better future |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Workshop organised at the UNiversity of Sao Paulo targetting postgraduate students |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |