Impact of Biopolymers Cross-linking to Biomass Recalcitrance and Biorefinery

Our paper "Downregulation of pectin biosynthesis gene GAUT4 leads to reduced ferulate and lignin-carbohydrate cross-linking in switchgrass" has been published at Communication Biology (https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-018-0265-6). We discovered the cross-linking among biopolymers (lignin and polysaccharides) played a key role in the cell wall integrity and biomass recalcitrance. The findings pointed that (1). Perturbing the biosynthesis pectin (GAUT4-suppressed) renders feedstock switchgrass of reduced recalcitrance for bioenergy and biorefinery; and (2). The reduction of hydroxycinnamates (particularly FA) and hemicellulose molecular weight associated with biopolymers cross-linking is likely the major mechanistic reason for biomass recalcitrance reduction.

Impact:

These results increase our fundamental understanding of the roles of lignin and lignin-carbohydrates cross-linking in reduced recalcitrance in grass biofuel feedstocks. The results also illustrate the impact of polymer cross-linkages in biopolymer fractionation and biorefinery.