scholarly journals A collection of genetically engineered Populus trees reveals wood biomass traits that predict glucose yield from enzymatic hydrolysis

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sacha Escamez ◽  
Madhavi Latha Gandla ◽  
Marta Derba-Maceluch ◽  
Sven-Olof Lundqvist ◽  
Ewa J. Mellerowicz ◽  
...  

AbstractWood represents a promising source of lignocellulosic biomass for the production of bio-based renewables, especially biofuels. However, woody feedstocks must be improved to become competitive against petroleum. We created a collection of Populus trees consisting of 40 genetically engineered lines to modify and to better understand wood biomass properties. A total of 65 traits were measured in these trees and in the corresponding wild-type clone, including growth parameters, wood anatomical and structural properties, cell wall composition and analytical saccharification. The relationships between saccharification of glucose and biomass traits were investigated using multivariate data analysis methods and mathematical modeling. To circumvent potential trade-offs between biomass production and saccharification potential, we also estimated the “total-wood glucose yield” (TWG) expected after pretreatment and 72h of enzymatic hydrolysis from whole trees. A mathematical model estimated TWG from a subset of 22 wood biomass traits with good predictivity (Q2 = 0.8), while saccharification of glucose could be predicted from seven biomass traits (Q2 = 0.49). Among the seven diagnostic traits for saccharification, four also affected biomass production, such as the ratio of S- to G-lignin which was beneficial for saccharification but detrimental for growth. The contents of various matrix polysaccharides appeared important for predicting both saccharification and TWG, including low abundance monosaccharides. In particular, fucose and mannose contents negatively correlated with TWG, apparently by negatively associating with biomass production. Both biomass production and saccharification, and hence TWG, negatively correlated with arabinose and rhamnose contents, suggesting that these low abundance monosaccharides represent markers/targets for improving feedstocks.

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sacha Escamez ◽  
Madhavi Latha Gandla ◽  
Marta Derba-Maceluch ◽  
Sven-Olof Lundqvist ◽  
Ewa J. Mellerowicz ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Madhavi Latha Gandla ◽  
Niklas Mähler ◽  
Sacha Escamez ◽  
Tomas Skotare ◽  
Ogonna Obudulu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Bioconversion of wood into bioproducts and biofuels is hindered by the recalcitrance of woody raw material to bioprocesses such as enzymatic saccharification. Targeted modification of the chemical composition of the feedstock can improve saccharification but this gain is often abrogated by concomitant reduction in tree growth. Results In this study, we report on transgenic hybrid aspen (Populus tremula × tremuloides) lines that showed potential to increase biomass production both in the greenhouse and after 5 years of growth in the field. The transgenic lines carried an overexpression construct for Populus tremula × tremuloides vesicle-associated membrane protein (VAMP)-associated protein PttVAP27-17 that was selected from a gene-mining program for novel regulators of wood formation. Analytical-scale enzymatic saccharification without any pretreatment revealed for all greenhouse-grown transgenic lines, compared to the wild type, a 20–44% increase in the glucose yield per dry weight after enzymatic saccharification, even though it was statistically significant only for one line. The glucose yield after enzymatic saccharification with a prior hydrothermal pretreatment step with sulfuric acid was not increased in the greenhouse-grown transgenic trees on a dry-weight basis, but increased by 26–50% when calculated on a whole biomass basis in comparison to the wild-type control. Tendencies to increased glucose yields by up to 24% were present on a whole tree biomass basis after acidic pretreatment and enzymatic saccharification also in the transgenic trees grown for 5 years on the field when compared to the wild-type control. Conclusions The results demonstrate the usefulness of gene-mining programs to identify novel genes with the potential to improve biofuel production in tree biotechnology programs. Furthermore, multi-omic analyses, including transcriptomic, proteomic and metabolomic analyses, performed here provide a toolbox for future studies on the function of VAP27 proteins in plants.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Akhil Sharma ◽  
Arman Harutyunyan ◽  
Bernard L. Schneider ◽  
Anna Moszczynska

AbstractThere is no FDA-approved medication for methamphetamine (METH) use disorder. New therapeutic approaches are needed, especially for people who use METH heavily and are at high risk for overdose. This study used genetically engineered rats to evaluate PARKIN as a potential target for METH use disorder. PARKIN knockout, PARKIN-overexpressing, and wild-type young adult male Long Evans rats were trained to self-administer high doses of METH using an extended-access METH self-administration paradigm. Reinforcing/rewarding properties of METH were assessed by quantifying drug-taking behavior and time spent in a METH-paired environment. PARKIN knockout rats self-administered more METH and spent more time in the METH-paired environment than wild-type rats. Wild-type rats overexpressing PARKIN self-administered less METH and spent less time in the METH-paired environment. PARKIN knockout rats overexpressing PARKIN self-administered less METH during the first half of drug self-administration days than PARKIN-deficient rats. The results indicate that rats with PARKIN excess or PARKIN deficit are useful models for studying neural substrates underlying “resilience” or vulnerability to METH use disorder and identify PARKIN as a novel potential drug target to treat heavy use of METH.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. e0140253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie D. Weyandt ◽  
Benjamin L. Lampson ◽  
Sherry Tang ◽  
Matthew Mastrodomenico ◽  
Diana M. Cardona ◽  
...  

1991 ◽  
Vol 174 (6) ◽  
pp. 1629-1637 ◽  
Author(s):  
J H Cox ◽  
J R Bennink ◽  
J W Yewdell

The E3/19K glycoprotein of adenovirus functions to diminish recognition of adenovirus-infected cells by major histocompatibility complex class I-restricted cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) by binding intracellular class I molecules and preventing them from reaching the plasma membrane. In the present study we have characterized the nature of the interaction between E3/19K and the H-2Kd (Kd) molecule. An E3/19K molecule genetically engineered to terminate six residues from its normal COOH terminus (delta E19), was found to associate with Kd in a manner indistinguishable from wild-type E3/19K. Unlike E3/19K, however, delta E19 was transported through the Golgi complex to the plasma membrane, where it could be detected biochemically and immunocytochemically using a monoclonal antibody specific for the lumenal domain of E3/19K. Importantly, delta E19 also differed from E3/19K in being unable to prevent the presentation of Kd-restricted viral proteins to CTLs. This is unlikely to be due to delta E19 having a lower avidity for Kd than E3/19K, since delta E19 was able to compete with E3/19K for Kd binding, both physically, and functionally in nullifying the E3/19K blockade of antigen presentation. These findings indicate that the ability of E3/19K to block antigen presentation is due solely to its ability to retain newly synthesized class I molecules in the endoplasmic reticulum.


eLife ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hala Tamim El Jarkass ◽  
Calvin Mok ◽  
Michael R Schertzberg ◽  
Andrew G Fraser ◽  
Emily R Troemel ◽  
...  

Microsporidia are ubiquitous obligate intracellular pathogens of animals. These parasites often infect hosts through an oral route, but little is known about the function of host intestinal proteins that facilitate microsporidia invasion. To identify such factors necessary for infection by Nematocida parisii, a natural microsporidian pathogen of Caenorhabditis elegans, we performed a forward genetic screen to identify mutant animals that have a Fitness Advantage with Nematocida (Fawn). We isolated four fawn mutants that are resistant to Nematocida infection and contain mutations in T14E8.4, which we renamed aaim-1 (Antibacterial and Aids invasion by Microsporidia). Expression of AAIM-1 in the intestine of aaim-1 animals restores N. parisii infectivity and this rescue of infectivity is dependent upon AAIM-1 secretion. N. parisii spores in aaim-1 animals are improperly oriented in the intestinal lumen, leading to reduced levels of parasite invasion. Conversely, aaim-1 mutants display both increased colonization and susceptibility to the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa and overexpression of AAIM-1 reduces P. aeruginosa colonization. Competitive fitness assays show that aaim-1 mutants are favoured in the presence of N. parisii but disadvantaged on P. aeruginosa compared to wild type animals. Together, this work demonstrates how microsporidia exploits a secreted protein to promote host invasion. Our results also suggest evolutionary trade-offs may exist to optimizing host defense against multiple classes of pathogens.


2021 ◽  
Vol 68 (5) ◽  
pp. 923-930
Author(s):  
Z. R. Vershinina ◽  
O. V. Chubukova ◽  
D. R. Maslennikova

Abstract The level of glutathione was investigated in the roots of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) plants transgenic by genes psl and rapA1 in the presence of a microsymbiont of leguminous plants Rhizobium leguminosarum VSy3. The plants transformed with gene psl showed a greater bacterial adhesion than the plants transformed with gene rapA1, which positively correlated with growth parameters of plants. Treatment with rhizobia elevated the content of glutathione in the roots of wild type plants three times, 4.7 times in the roots of plants transformed with gene rapA1, and more than five times in the plants transgenic by gene psl. The obtained results suggest that the level of glutathione in the roots may serve as a marker of efficiency of artificial symbiotic systems produced de novo.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhenggang Gong ◽  
Guangxu Yang ◽  
Junlong Song ◽  
Peitao Zheng ◽  
Jing Liu ◽  
...  

Abstract Lignin deposits formed on the surface of pretreated lignocellulosic substrates during acidic pretreatments can non-productively adsorb costly enzymes and thereby influence the enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency of cellulose. In this article, peanut protein (PP), a biocompatible non-catalytic protein, was separated from defatted peanut flour (DPF) as a lignin blocking additive to overcome this adverse effect. With the addition of 2.5 g/L PP in enzymatic hydrolysis medium, the glucose yield of the bamboo substrate pretreated by phenylsulfonic acid (PSA) significantly increased from 38 to 94% at a low cellulase loading of 5 FPU/g glucan while achieving a similar glucose yield required a cellulase loading of 17.5 FPU/g glucan without PP addition. Similar promotion effects were also observed on the n-pentanol-pretreated bamboo and PSA-pretreated eucalyptus substrates. The promoting effect of PP on enzymatic hydrolysis was ascribed to blocking lignin deposits via hydrophobic and/or hydrogen-bonding interactions, which significantly reduced the non-productive adsorption of cellulase onto PSA lignin. Meanwhile, PP extraction also facilitated the utilization of residual DPF as the adhesive for producing plywood as compared to that without protein pre-extraction. This scheme provides a sustainable and viable way to improve the value of woody and agriculture biomass. Peanut protein, a biocompatible non-catalytic protein, can block lignin, improve enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency and thereby facilitate the economics of biorefinery. Graphical abstract


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document