Hiroshi Hisano

Genetic Modification of Lignin Biosynthesis for Improved Biofuel Production

The energy in cellulosic biomass largely resides in plant cell walls. Cellulosic biomass is more difficult than starch to break down into sugars because of the presence of lignin and the complex structure of cell walls. Transgenic down-regulation of major lignin genes led to reduced lignin content, increased dry matter degradability, and improved accessibility of cellulases for cellulose degradation. This review provides background information on lignin biosynthesis and focuses on genetic manipulation of lignin genes in important monocot species as well as the dicot potential biofuel crop alfalfa. Reduction of lignin in biofuel crops by genetic engineering is likely one of the most effective ways of reducing costs associated with pretreatment and hydrolysis of cellulosic feedstocks, although some potential fitness issues should also be addressed.

A Genomics Approach to Deciphering Lignin Biosynthesis in Switchgrass

The lignin pathway is a favored target for improvement of lignocellulosic feedstocks because lignin affects enzymatic sugar release from cell walls. Using a combination of approaches, this article identifies candidate lignin pathway genes likely to be functionally involved in lignification in the dedicated energy crop switchgrass, as well as some expected candidates with questionable function. It is necessary to overcome recalcitrance of the biomass to saccharification (sugar release) to make switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) economically viable as a feedstock for liquid biofuels. Lignin content correlates negatively with sugar release efficiency in switchgrass, but selecting the right gene candidates for engineering lignin biosynthesis in this tetraploid outcrossing species is not straightforward. To assist this endeavor, we have used an inducible switchgrass cell suspension system for studying lignin biosynthesis in response to exogenous brassinolide. By applying a combination of protein sequence phylogeny with whole-genome microarray analyses of induced cell cultures and developing stem internode sections, we have generated a list of candidate monolignol biosynthetic genes for switchgrass. Several genes that were strongly supported through our bioinformatics analysis as involved in lignin biosynthesis were confirmed by gene silencing studies, in which lignin levels were reduced as a result of targeting a single gene. However, candidate genes encoding enzymes involved in the early steps of the currently accepted monolignol biosynthesis pathway in dicots may have functionally redundant paralogues in switchgrass and therefore require further evaluation. This work provides a blueprint and resources for the systematic genome-wide study of the monolignol pathway in switchgrass, as well as other C4 monocot species.

Standardization of switchgrass sample collection for cell wall and biomass trait analysis.

As a native, low-input crop with high biomass production, switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) has become a favorable feedstock for the production of cellulosic biofuels in the United States. Many efforts are being made to improve the production of cellulosic biofuels from switchgrass. Protocols regarding analysis of switchgrass biomass have been established; however, the developmental stage of the materials being analyzed has varied depending on researchers’ discretion, and no standardized harvesting procedure has been defined. Developmental stages have a large impact on the results of biochemical analyses. We propose a standardized procedure for switchgrass sample collection for cell wall and biomass analyses by describing various developmental stages of switchgrass, defining the R1 stage as the stage at which tillers should be collected, and providing a detailed description of how and what material should be analyzed. Such a standardized procedure will help to maintain consistency in switchgrass evaluation methods, enable comparisons of data obtained from different approaches and studies, and facilitate efforts towards improving switchgrass as a bioenergy crop.

Global profiling of phytohormone dynamics during combined drought and pathogen stress in Arabidopsis thaliana reveals ABA and JA as major regulators

Global transcriptome studies demonstrated the existence of unique plant responses under combined stress which are otherwise not seen during individual stresses. In order to combat combined stress plants use signaling pathways and ‘cross talk’ mediated by hormones involved in stress and growth related processes. However, interactions among hormones’ pathways in combined stressed plants are not yet known. Here we studied dynamics of different hormones under individual and combined drought and pathogen infection in Arabidopsis thaliana by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) based profiling. Our results revealed abscisic acid (ABA) and salicylic acid (SA) as key regulators under individual drought and pathogen stress respectively. Under combined drought and host pathogen stress (DH) we observed non-induced levels of ABA with an upsurge in SA and jasmonic acid (JA) concentrations, underscoring their role in basal tolerance against host pathogen. Under a non-host pathogen interaction with drought (DNH) stressed plants, ABA, SA and JA profiles were similar to those under DH or non-host pathogen alone. We propose that plants use SA/JA dependent signaling during DH stress which antagonize ABA biosynthesis and signaling pathways during early stage of stress. The study provides insights into hormone modulation at different time points during combined stress.

Endogenous hormone levels affect the regeneration ability of callus derived from different organs in barley

Hordeum vulgare (barley) is an important agricultural crop worldwide. A simple and efficient transformation system is needed to analyze the functions of barley genes and generate lines with improved agronomic traits. Currently, Golden Promise and Igri are the most amenable barley cultivars for stable transformation. Here we evaluated the regeneration ratios and endogenous hormone levels of calli derived from various malting barley cultivars, including Golden Promise, Haruna Nijo, and Morex. We harvested samples not only from immature embryos, but also from different explants of juvenile plants, cotyledons, coleoptiles, and roots. The callus properties differed among genotypes and explant types. Calli derived from the immature embryos of Golden Promise, which showed the highest ratio of regeneration of green shoots, had the highest contents of indoleacetic acid, trans-zeatin, and cis-zeatin. By contrast, calli derived from the cotyledons of Morex and the immature embryos of Haruna Nijo had elevated levels of salicylic acid and abscisic acid, respectively. We thus propose that the former phytohormones are positively associated with the regeneration ability of callus but the later phytohormones are negatively associated.

Genomic regions responsible for amenability to Agrobacterium-mediated transformation in barley

Different plant cultivars of the same genus and species can exhibit vastly different genetic transformation efficiencies. However, the genetic factors underlying these differences in transformation rate remain largely unknown. In barley, ‘Golden Promise’ is one of a few cultivars reliable for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. By contrast, cultivar ‘Haruna Nijo’ is recalcitrant to genetic transformation. We identified genomic regions of barley important for successful transformation with Agrobacterium, utilizing the ‘Haruna Nijo’ × ‘Golden Promise’ F2 generation and genotyping by 124 genome-wide SNP markers. We observed significant segregation distortions of these markers from the expected 1:2:1 ratio toward the ‘Golden Promise’-type in regions of chromosomes 2H and 3H, indicating that the alleles of ‘Golden Promise’ in these regions might contribute to transformation efficiency. The same regions, which we termed Transformation Amenability (TFA) regions, were also conserved in transgenic F2 plants generated from a ‘Morex’ × ‘Golden Promise’ cross. The genomic regions identified herein likely include necessary factors for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation in barley. The potential to introduce these loci into any haplotype of barley opens the door to increasing the efficiency of transformation for target alleles into any haplotype of barley by the TFA-based methods proposed in this report.

Selection of transformation-efficient barley genotypes based on TFA (transformation amenability) haplotype and higher resolution mapping of the TFA loci

Key messageThe genetic substitution of transformation amenability alleles from ‘Golden Promise’ can facilitate the development of transformation-efficient lines from recalcitrant barley cultivars.AbstractBarley (Hordeum vulgare) cv. ‘Golden Promise’ is one of the most useful and well-studied cultivars for genetic manipulation. In a previous report, we identified several transformation amenability (TFA) loci responsible for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation using the F2 generation of immature embryos, derived from ‘Haruna Nijo’ × ‘Golden Promise,’ as explants. In this report, we describe higher density mapping of these TFA regions with additional SNP markers using the same transgenic plants. To demonstrate the robustness of transformability alleles at the TFA loci, we genotyped 202 doubled haploid progeny from the cross ‘Golden Promise’ × ‘Full Pint.’ Based on SNP genotype, we selected lines having ‘Golden Promise’ alleles at TFA loci and used them for transformation. Of the successfully transformed lines, DH120366 came the closest to achieving a level of transformation efficiency comparable to ‘Golden Promise.’ The results validate that the genetic substitution of TFA alleles from ‘Golden Promise’ can facilitate the development of transformation-efficient lines from recalcitrant barley cultivars.

Agrobacterium tumefaciens Enhances Biosynthesis of Two Distinct Auxins in the Formation of Crown Galls

The plant pathogen Agrobacterium tumefaciens infects plants and introduces the transferred-DNA (T-DNA) region of the Ti-plasmid into nuclear DNA of host plants to induce the formation of tumors (crown galls). The T-DNA region carries iaaM and iaaH genes for synthesis of the plant hormone auxin, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). It has been demonstrated that the iaaM gene encodes a tryptophan 2-monooxygenase which catalyzes the conversion of tryptophan to indole-3-acetamide (IAM), and the iaaH gene encodes an amidase for subsequent conversion of IAM to IAA. In this article, we demonstrate that A. tumefaciens enhances the production of both IAA and phenylacetic acid (PAA), another auxin which does not show polar transport characteristics, in the formation of crown galls. Using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy, we found that the endogenous levels of phenylacetamide (PAM) and PAA metabolites, as well as IAM and IAA metabolites, are remarkably increased in crown galls formed on the stem of tomato plants, implying that two distinct auxins are simultaneously synthesized via the IaaM-IaaH pathway. Moreover, we found that the induction of the iaaM gene dramatically elevated the levels of PAM, PAA and its metabolites, along with IAM, IAA and its metabolites, in Arabidopsis and barley. From these results, we conclude that A. tumefaciens enhances biosynthesis of two distinct auxins in the formation of crown galls.

Simultaneous regulation of F5H in COMT-RNAi transgenic switchgrass alters effects of COMT suppression on syringyl lignin biosynthesis

Summary Ferulate 5‐hydroxylase (F5H) catalyses the hydroxylation of coniferyl alcohol and coniferaldehyde for the biosynthesis of syringyl (S) lignin in angiosperms. However, the coordinated effects of F5H with caffeic acid O‐methyltransferase (COMT) on the metabolic flux towards S units are largely unknown. We concomitantly regulated F5H expression in COMT‐down‐regulated transgenic switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) lines and studied the coordination of F5H and COMT in lignin biosynthesis. Down‐regulation of F5H in COMT‐RNAi transgenic switchgrass plants further impeded S lignin biosynthesis and, consequently, increased guaiacyl (G) units and reduced 5‐OH G units. Conversely, overexpression of F5H in COMT‐RNAi transgenic plants reduced G units and increased 5‐OH units, whereas the deficiency of S lignin biosynthesis was partially compensated or fully restored, depending on the extent of COMT down‐regulation in switchgrass. Moreover, simultaneous regulation of F5H and COMT expression had different effects on cell wall digestibility of switchgrass without biomass loss. Our results indicate that up‐regulation and down‐regulation of F5H expression, respectively, have antagonistic and synergistic effects on the reduction in S lignin resulting from COMT suppression. The coordinated effects between lignin genes should be taken into account in future studies aimed at cell wall bioengineering.

Detection of QTLs controlling alpha-amylase activity in a diversity panel of 343 barley accessions

The α–amylase activity of cultivated barley is critically important to the brewing industry. Here, we surveyed variation in malt α–amylase activity in 343 cultivated barley accessions from around the world. Population structure analysis based on genotype data at 1536 SNPs clustered these accessions into two groups, one comprising South-East Asian and Ethiopian accessions and one group containing the other accessions. A genome-wide association study identified significant quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for α–amylase activity on all seven chromosomes of barley. Accessions showing high and low α–amylase activity were crossed with the high-quality Japanese malting barley cv. Harun Nijo to develop F2 mapping populations. We identified two QTLs on chromosome 6H in a cross between Haruna Nijo (high activity) × Weal (highest activity). Single QTLs were identified each on 3H, 4H, and 5H from a cross between Haruna Nijo (high activity) × VLB-1 (low activity), indicating that the high α–amylase activity in Haruna Nijo might be derived from loci on these chromosomes. The addition of the high α–amylase activity QTL alleles from chromosome 6H in cv. Weal further increased the α–amylase activity conferred by alleles of Haruna Nijo. These results demonstrate that a target haplotype can be successfully improved using a strategy comprising diversity analysis of ex situ collections followed by introducing effective new alleles.