Multicellular living organisms and unmodified parts thereof and – Method of introducing a polynucleotide molecule into or...
Patent
1998-06-18
1999-11-09
Degen, Nancy
Multicellular living organisms and unmodified parts thereof and
Method of introducing a polynucleotide molecule into or...
435410, 435468, 435469, 536 236, A01H 500, C12N 1582, C12N 500, C07H 2104
Patent
active
059818379
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present method relates to the field of molecular biology and the regulation of protein synthesis through the introduction of foreign genes into plant genomes. More specifically, the method relates to the modification of plant lignin composition in a plant cell by the introduction of a foreign plant gene encoding an active ferulate-5-hydroxylase (F5H) enzyme. Plant transformants harboring the F5H gene demonstrate increased levels of syringyl monomer residues in their lignin, a trait that is thought to render the polymer more susceptible to delignification.
BACKGROUND
Lignin is one of the major products of the general phenylpropanoid pathway, and is one of the most abundant organic molecules in the biosphere (Crawford, (1981) Lignin Biodegradation and Transformation, New York: John Wiley and Sons). In nature, lignification provides rigidity to wood and is in large part responsible for the structural integrity of plant tracheary elements. Lignin is well suited to these capacities because of its physical characteristics and its resistance to biochemical degradation. Unfortunately, this same resistance to degradation has a significant impact on the utilization of lignocellulosic plant material (Whetten et al., Forest Ecol. Management 43, 301, (1991)).
The monomeric composition of lignin has significant effects on its chemical degradation during industrial pulping (Chiang et al., Tappi, 71, 173, (1988). The guaiacyl lignins (derived from ferulic acid) characteristic of softwoods such as pine, require substantially more alkali and longer incubations during pulping in comparison to the guaiacyl-syringyl lignins (derived from ferulic acid and sinapic acid) found in hardwoods such as oak. The reasons for the differences between these two lignin types has been explored by measuring the degradation of model compounds such as guaiacylglycerol-.beta.-guaiacyl ether, syringylglycerol-.beta.-guaiacyl ether, and syringylglycerol-.beta.-(4-methylsyringyl) ether (Kondo et al., Holzforschung, 41, 83, (1987)) under conditions that mimic those used in the pulping process. In these experiments, the mono- and especially di-syringyl compounds were cleaved three to fifteen times faster than their corresponding diguaiacyl homologues. These model studies are in agreement with studies comparing the pulping of Douglas fir and sweetgum wood where the major differences in the rate of pulping occurred above 150.degree. C. where arylglycerol-.beta.-aryl ether linkages were cleaved (Chiang et al., Holzforschung, 44, 309, (1990)).
Another factor affecting chemical degradation of the two lignin forms may be the condensation of lignin-derived guaiacyl and syringyl residues to form diphenylmethane units. The presence of syringyl residues in hardwood lignins leads to the formation of syringyl-containing diphenylmethane derivatives that remain soluble during pulping, while the diphenylmethane units produced during softwood pulping are alkali-insoluble and thus remain associated with the cellulosic products (Chiang et al., Holzforschung, 44, 147, (1990); Chiang et al., Holzforschung, 44, 309, (1990)). Further, it is thought that the abundance of 5-5'-diaryl crosslinks that can occur between guaiacyl residues contributes to resistance to chemical degradation. This linkage is resistant to alkali cleavage and is much less common in lignin that is rich in syringyl residues because of the presence of the 5-O-methyl group in syringyl residues. The incorporation of syringyl residues results in what is known as "non-condensed lignin", a material that is significantly easier to pulp than condensed lignin.
Similarly, lignin composition and content in grasses is a major factor in determining the digestibility of lignocellulosic materials that are fed to livestock (Jung, H. G. & Deetz, D. A. (1993) Cell wall lignification and degradability in Forage Cell Wall Structure and Digestibility (H. G. Jung, D. R. Buxton, R. D. Hatfield, and J. Ralph eds.), ASA/CSSA/SSSA Press, Madison, Wis.). The incorporation of the lignin polymer into
REFERENCES:
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Degen Nancy
Purdue Research Foundation
Sandals William
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