Silencing of a BAHD acyltransferase in sugarcane increases biomass digestibility.

Background: Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) covers vast areas of land (around 25 million ha worldwide), and its processing is already linked into infrastructure for producing bioethanol in many countries. This makes it an ideal candidate for improving composition of its residues (mostly cell walls), making them more suitable for cellulosic ethanol production. In this paper, we report an approach to improving saccharification of sugarcane straw by RNAi silencing of the recently discovered BAHD01 gene responsible for feruloylation of grass cell walls. Results: We identified six BAHD genes in the sugarcane genome (SacBAHDs) and generated five lines with substantially decreased SacBAHD01 expression. To find optimal conditions for determining saccharification of sugarcane straw, we tried multiple combinations of solvent and temperature pretreatment conditions, devising a predictive model for finding their effects on glucose release. Under optimal conditions, demonstrated by Organosolv pretreatment using 30% ethanol for 240 min, transgenic lines showed increases in saccharification efficiency of up to 24%. The three lines with improved saccharification efficiency had lower cell-wall ferulate content but unchanged monosaccharide and lignin compositions. Conclusions: The silencing of SacBAHD01 gene and subsequent decrease of cell-wall ferulate contents indicate a promising novel biotechnological approach for improving the suitability of sugarcane residues for cellulosic ethanol production. In addition, the Organosolv pretreatment of the genetically modified biomass and the optimal conditions for the enzymatic hydrolysis presented here might be incorporated in the sugarcane industry for bioethanol production. Keywords: Sugarcane,

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	SOUZA, W. R. de, PACHECO, T. F., DUARTE, K. E., SAMPAIO, B. L., OLIVEIRA, P. A. de, MARTINS, P. M., SANTIAGO, T. R., FORMIGHIERI, E. F., VINECKY, F., RIBEIRO, A. P., DIAS, B. B. A., KOBAYASHI, A. K., MITCHELL, R. A. C., RODRIGUES, D. de S., MOLINARI, H. B. C.
Other Authors:	Wagner Rodrigo de Souza, Bolsista da Embrapa Agroenergia; THALYTA FRAGA PACHECO, CNPAE; Karoline Estefani Duarte, Bolsista da Embrapa Agroenergia; Bruno Leite Sampaio, Bolsista da Embrapa Agroenergia; PATRICIA ABRAO DE OLIVEIRA MOLINARI, CNPAE; Polyana Kelly Martins, Bolsista da Embrapa Agroenergia; Thaís Ribeiro Santiago, Bolsista da Embrapa Agroenergia; EDUARDO FERNANDES FORMIGHIERI, CNPAE; Felipe Vinecky; Ana Paula Ribeiro; BARBARA ANDRADE DIAS BRITO DA CUNHA, CNPAE; ADILSON KENJI KOBAYASHI, CNPAE; Rowan Andrew Craig Mitchell; DASCIANA DE SOUSA RODRIGUES, CNPAE; HUGO BRUNO CORREA MOLINARI, CNPAE.
Format:	Artigo de periódico biblioteca
Language:	English eng
Published:	2019-06-21
Subjects:	Cell-wall acylation, Lignocellulosic feedstock, Sugarcane, Biomass, Biofuels,
Online Access:	http://www.alice.cnptia.embrapa.br/alice/handle/doc/1109978
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