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Plants
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Biotechnological Advances in Biomass and Bioenergy Production
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Biotechnological Advances in Biomass and Bioenergy Production

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Genetics, Genomics and Biotechnology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2022) | Viewed by 16078

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Chandrashekhar P. Joshi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Professor and Chair, Department of Biological Sciences, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI 49931, USA
Interests: plant cell wall modifications; biomass production; improving bioenergy production; biotechnology
Prof. Dr. Jae-Heung Ko

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Plant and Environmental New Resources, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 130-701, Republic of Korea
Interests: plant science; wood formation; secondary wall biosynthesis; biotechnological improvement
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Since the first successful genetic transformation of plant cells in 1983, tremendous advances have been made in the identification of native plant genes controlling various economically important traits. Plant biotechnology has now become a cornerstone of economic progress that includes the cloning of important plant genes, modifying their expression patterns by using appropriate promoters, genetic transformation of plants, and studying the impact of such genetic modifications on the characteristics of plants. One such area of active research is the creation of well-designed transgenic plants for better biomass and bioenergy production. To meet the current and future demands of biofuels and biomaterials production, plant cell wall research has now become a hub of intense endeavors.

Recent advances in genomics, biotechnology, and bioinformatics of plant cell wall production have provided some major avenues for using plants as raw materials to produce biofuels such as bioethanol and biodiesel. In this Special Issue of Plants, research articles are welcome that provide exciting discoveries on the use of genetically modified plant cell walls for improved bioenergy and biomass production. We still have a long way to go before second-generation biofuel production becomes an economically viable approach, due to the natural resistance of plant cell walls to deconstruction processes. Therefore, novel approaches describing the reduction of such recalcitrance of plant cell walls for large-scale production of biofuels are also welcome.

This Special Issue is also open to cell wall research articles covering molecular biology, biochemistry, physiology, genetics, cell biology, genetic transformation, modern omics, and bioinformatics technologies.

Dr. Chandrashekhar Joshi
Prof. Dr. Jae-Heung Ko
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Plant cell wall synthesis
  • Genetic modification of plant cell walls
  • Artificial deconstruction of plant cell walls
  • Cell wall biotechnology
  • Biomass production
  • Plants for bioenergy production
  • Production of Biofuels and Biomaterials from plant cell walls
  • Use of Omics technologies for improving cell wall synthesis and deconstruction
  • Cell wall bioinformatics

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 1422 KiB  
Communication
Ultrasonic Disintegration to Improve Anaerobic Digestion of Microalgae with Hard Cell Walls—Scenedesmus sp. and Pinnularia sp.
by Marcin Dębowski, Joanna Kazimierowicz, Izabela Świca and Marcin Zieliński
Plants 2023, 12(1), 53; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/plants12010053 - 22 Dec 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1299
Abstract
Microalgae are considered to be very promising feedstocks for biomethane production. It has been shown that the structure of microalgal cell walls can be highly detrimental to the anaerobic digestibility of biomass. Therefore, there is a real need to seek ways to eliminate [...] Read more.
Microalgae are considered to be very promising feedstocks for biomethane production. It has been shown that the structure of microalgal cell walls can be highly detrimental to the anaerobic digestibility of biomass. Therefore, there is a real need to seek ways to eliminate this problem. The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of ultrasonic disintegration of Scenedesmus sp. and Pinnularia sp. microalgal biomass on the performance and energy efficiency of anaerobic digestion. The pretreatment was successful in significantly increasing dissolved COD and TOC in the system. The highest CH4 yields were noted for Scenedesmus sp. sonicated for 150 s and 200 s, which produced 309 ± 13 cm3/gVS and 313 ± 15 cm3/gVS, respectively. The 50 s group performed the best in terms of net energy efficiency at 1.909 ± 0.20 Wh/gVS. Considerably poorer performance was noted for Pinnularia sp., with biomass yields and net energy gains peaking at CH4 250 ± 21 cm3/gVS and 0.943 ± 0.22 Wh/gVS, respectively. Notably, the latter value was inferior to even the non-pretreated biomass (which generated 1.394 ± 0.19 Wh/gVS). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biotechnological Advances in Biomass and Bioenergy Production)
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15 pages, 4916 KiB  
Article
Mutation in the Endo-β-1,4-glucanase (KORRIGAN) Is Responsible for Thick Leaf Phenotype in Sorghum
by Lavanya Mendu, Gayani Jalathge, Kamalpreet Kaur Dhillon, Nagendra Pratap Singh, Vimal Kumar Balasubramanian, Rebecca Fewou, Dennis C. Gitz III, Junping Chen, Zhanguo Xin and Venugopal Mendu
Plants 2022, 11(24), 3531; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/plants11243531 - 15 Dec 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1938
Abstract
Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is an important crop for food, feed, and fuel production. Particularly, sorghum is targeted for cellulosic ethanol production. Extraction of cellulose from cell walls is a key process in cellulosic ethanol production, and understanding the components involved in [...] Read more.
Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is an important crop for food, feed, and fuel production. Particularly, sorghum is targeted for cellulosic ethanol production. Extraction of cellulose from cell walls is a key process in cellulosic ethanol production, and understanding the components involved in cellulose synthesis is important for both fundamental and applied research. Despite the significance in the biofuel industry, the genes involved in sorghum cell wall biosynthesis, modification, and degradation have not been characterized. In this study, we have identified and characterized three allelic thick leaf mutants (thl1, thl2, and thl3). Bulked Segregant Analysis sequencing (BSAseq) showed that the causal mutation for the thl phenotype is in endo-1,4-β-glucanase gene (SbKOR1). Consistent with the causal gene function, the thl mutants showed decreased crystalline cellulose content in the stem tissues. The SbKOR1 function was characterized using Arabidopsis endo-1,4-β-glucanase gene mutant (rsw2-1). Complementation of Arabidopsis with SbKOR1 (native Arabidopsis promoter and overexpression by 35S promoter) restored the radial swelling phenotype of rsw2-1 mutant, proving that SbKOR1 functions as endo-1,4-β-glucanase. Overall, the present study has identified and characterized sorghum endo-1,4-β-glucanase gene function, laying the foundation for future research on cell wall biosynthesis and engineering of sorghum for biofuel production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biotechnological Advances in Biomass and Bioenergy Production)
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Review

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15 pages, 943 KiB  
Review
Understanding the Modus Operandi of Class II KNOX Transcription Factors in Secondary Cell Wall Biosynthesis
by Akula Nookaraju, Shashank K. Pandey, Yogesh K. Ahlawat and Chandrashekhar P. Joshi
Plants 2022, 11(4), 493; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/plants11040493 - 11 Feb 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2541
Abstract
Lignocellulosic biomass from the secondary cell walls of plants has a veritable potential to provide some of the most appropriate raw materials for producing second-generation biofuels. Therefore, we must first understand how plants synthesize these complex secondary cell walls that consist of cellulose, [...] Read more.
Lignocellulosic biomass from the secondary cell walls of plants has a veritable potential to provide some of the most appropriate raw materials for producing second-generation biofuels. Therefore, we must first understand how plants synthesize these complex secondary cell walls that consist of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin in order to deconstruct them later on into simple sugars to produce bioethanol via fermentation. Knotted-like homeobox (KNOX) genes encode homeodomain-containing transcription factors (TFs) that modulate various important developmental processes in plants. While Class I KNOX TF genes are mainly expressed in the shoot apical meristems of both monocot and eudicot plants and are involved in meristem maintenance and/or formation, Class II KNOXTF genes exhibit diverse expression patterns and their precise functions have mostly remained unknown, until recently. The expression patterns of Class II KNOX TF genes in Arabidopsis, namely KNAT3, KNAT4, KNAT5, and KNAT7, suggest that TFs encoded by at least some of these genes, such as KNAT7 and KNAT3, may play a significant role in secondary cell wall formation. Specifically, the expression of the KNAT7 gene is regulated by upstream TFs, such as SND1 and MYB46, while KNAT7 interacts with other cell wall proteins, such as KNAT3, MYB75, OFPs, and BLHs, to regulate secondary cell wall formation. Moreover, KNAT7 directly regulates the expression of some xylan synthesis genes. In this review, we summarize the current mechanistic understanding of the roles of Class II KNOX TFs in secondary cell wall formation. Recent success with the genetic manipulation of Class II KNOX TFs suggests that this may be one of the biotechnological strategies to improve plant feedstocks for bioethanol production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biotechnological Advances in Biomass and Bioenergy Production)
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22 pages, 1650 KiB  
Review
Recent Advances in Understanding the Roles of Pectin as an Active Participant in Plant Signaling Networks
by Yesol Shin, Andrea Chane, Minjung Jung and Yuree Lee
Plants 2021, 10(8), 1712; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/plants10081712 - 19 Aug 2021
Cited by 41 | Viewed by 7369
Abstract
Pectin is an abundant cell wall polysaccharide with essential roles in various biological processes. The structural diversity of pectins, along with the numerous combinations of the enzymes responsible for pectin biosynthesis and modification, plays key roles in ensuring the specificity and plasticity of [...] Read more.
Pectin is an abundant cell wall polysaccharide with essential roles in various biological processes. The structural diversity of pectins, along with the numerous combinations of the enzymes responsible for pectin biosynthesis and modification, plays key roles in ensuring the specificity and plasticity of cell wall remodeling in different cell types and under different environmental conditions. This review focuses on recent progress in understanding various aspects of pectin, from its biosynthetic and modification processes to its biological roles in different cell types. In particular, we describe recent findings that cell wall modifications serve not only as final outputs of internally determined pathways, but also as key components of intercellular communication, with pectin as a major contributor to this process. The comprehensive view of the diverse roles of pectin presented here provides an important basis for understanding how cell wall-enclosed plant cells develop, differentiate, and interact. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biotechnological Advances in Biomass and Bioenergy Production)
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Other

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7 pages, 2460 KiB  
Brief Report
Protoplast-Based Transient Expression and Gene Editing in Shrub Willow (Salix purpurea L.)
by Brennan Hyden, Guoliang Yuan, Yang Liu, Lawrence B. Smart, Gerald A. Tuskan and Xiaohan Yang
Plants 2022, 11(24), 3490; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/plants11243490 - 13 Dec 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1856
Abstract
Shrub willows (Salix section Vetrix) are grown as a bioenergy crop in multiple countries and as ornamentals across the northern hemisphere. To facilitate the breeding and genetic advancement of shrub willow, there is a strong interest in the characterization and functional validation [...] Read more.
Shrub willows (Salix section Vetrix) are grown as a bioenergy crop in multiple countries and as ornamentals across the northern hemisphere. To facilitate the breeding and genetic advancement of shrub willow, there is a strong interest in the characterization and functional validation of genes involved in plant growth and biomass production. While protocols for shoot regeneration in tissue culture and production of stably transformed lines have greatly advanced this research in the closely related genus Populus, a lack of efficient methods for regeneration and transformation has stymied similar advancements in willow functional genomics. Moreover, transient expression assays in willow have been limited to callus tissue and hairy root systems. Here we report an efficient method for protoplast isolation from S. purpurea leaf tissue, along with transient overexpression and CRISPR-Cas9 mediated mutations. This is the first such report of transient gene expression in Salix protoplasts as well as the first application of CRISPR technology in this genus. These new capabilities pave the way for future functional genomics studies in this important bioenergy and ornamental crop. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biotechnological Advances in Biomass and Bioenergy Production)
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