Available Technologies: Improved Saccharification of Grasses by Inactivation of OsIRX10

APPLICATIONS OF TECHNOLOGY:

Biofuel production

ADVANTAGES:

Pathway to more efficient saccharification in grasses

ABSTRACT:

Researchers at the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) have identified a technology to manipulate the xylan pathway and reduce xylan content in selected bioenergy grasses. Xylan contributes to the recalcitrance of plant cell walls, therefore, the JBEI technology could lead to more efficient saccharification of rice, Switchgrass, miscanthus, and other grasses.

Transgenic rice plants effectively knocked out for OsIRX10 have reduced height, thinner cell walls, and reduced xylan content compared to the Arabidopsis mutants, but the size of the remaining xylan polymer is unchanged relative to the wild type, suggesting that the IRX10 protein may have a different biosynthetic mechanism in grass species. The OsIRX10 mutant displays higher enzymatic cell wall saccharification efficiency indicating that cellulose is more accessible in the mutant, demonstrating that manipulating the xylan content in grass cell walls can facilitate sugar extraction for biofuel production.

DEVELOPMENT STAGE: Proven principle. Trial data indicated in related publication, also linked below.

STATUS: Patent pending. Available for licensing or collaborative research.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Chen, X., Vega-Sanchez, M. E., Verhertbruggen, Y., Chiniquy, D., Canlas, P. E., Fagerstrom, A., Prak, L. Christensen, U., Oikawa, A., Chern, M., Zuo, S., Lin, F., Auer, M., Willats, W. G. T., Bartley, L. Harholt, J., Scheller, H. V., Ronald, P. C. “Inactivation of OsIRX10 leads to decreased xylan content in rice culm cell walls and improved biomass saccharification,” Molecular Plant, Nov. 23, 2012.

SEE THESE OTHER BERKELEY LAB TECHNOLOGIES IN THIS FIELD:

Improved Xylan Extraction, EJIB-2915

REFERENCE NUMBER: EJIB-2997

The Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI, www.jbei.org) is a scientific partnership led by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and including the Sandia National Laboratories, the University of California campuses of Berkeley and Davis, the Carnegie Institution for Science and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. JBEI’s primary scientific mission is to advance the development of the next generation of biofuels.