Tracie K. Matsumoto

Biogas energy production from tropical biomass wastes by anaerobic digestion

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is an attractive technology in tropical regions for converting locally abundant biomass wastes into biogas which can be used to produce heat, electricity, and transportation fuels. However, investigations on AD of tropical forestry wastes, such as albizia biomass and food wastes, such as taro, papaya, and sweet potato, are limited. In this study, these tropical biomass wastes were evaluated for biogas production by liquid AD (L-AD) and/or solid-state AD (SS-AD), depending on feedstock characteristics. When albizia leaves and chips were used as feedstocks, L-AD had greater methane yields (161 and 113 L kg(-1)VS, respectively) than SS-AD (156.8 and 59.6 L kg(-1)VS, respectively), while SS-AD achieved 5-fold higher volumetric methane productivity than L-AD. Mono-digestion and co-digestion of taro skin, taro flesh, papaya, and sweet potato achieved methane yields from 345 to 411 L kg(-1)VS, indicating the robustness of AD technology.

Screening promoters for Anthurium transformation using transient expression

Key messageThere are multiple publications onAnthuriumtransformation, yet a commercial product has not been achieved. This may be due to use of non-optimum promoters here we address this problem.AbstractDifferent promoters and tissue types were evaluated for transient β-glucuronidase (GUS) expression in Anthuriumandraeanum Hort. ‘Marian Seefurth’ following microprojectile bombardment. Plasmids containing the Ubiquitin 2, Actin 1, Cytochrome C1 from rice, Ubiquitin 1 from maize and 35S promoter from Cauliflower Mosaic Virus fused to a GUS reporter gene were bombarded into in vitro grown anthurium lamina, somatic embryos and roots. The number of GUS foci and the intensity of GUS expression were evaluated for each construct. Ubiquitin promoters from rice and maize resulted in the highest number of expressing cells in all tissues examined. Due to the slow growth of anthurium plants, development of transgenic anthurium plants takes years. This research has rapidly identified multiple promoters that express in various anthurium tissues facilitating the development of transformation vectors for the expression of desirable traits in anthurium plants.

Identification of Members of the Dimocarpus Longan Flowering Locus T Gene Family with Divergent Functions in Flowering

Dimocarpus longan is a subtropical fruit crop whose year-round production relies on the application of KClO3 to induce flowering; however, the mechanism by which this chemical causes flowering is yet unknown. To further characterize floral signaling in this species, we have isolated three longan FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT)-like genes and studied their activities by heterologous expression in Arabidopsis. Expression of two of these genes (DlFT2 and DlFT3) accelerates flowering, whereas expression of the third gene (DlFT1) causes delayed flowering and produced floral morphology defects. This anti-florigenic protein may be a member of a class of FT-like family involved in flowering time control in biennial and perennial species. Surprisingly, KClO3 treatment also suppressed the expression of both DlFT2 and DlFT3 in a field trial.

Biolistic and other non-Agrobacterium technologies of plant transformation

Publisher Summary This chapter covers some of the methods that have been successfully used to create transgenic plants. The methods include electrophoretic transfection, electroporation of intact plant cells and tissues, bioactive-bead-mediated gene transfer, microinjection, pollen-tube pathway, and silica carbide-mediated transformation. These methods are successful in the laboratory, but there are very few examples where these techniques have been applied on a commercial basis. Biolistics has served as an excellent approach for transforming monocots and recalcitrant agronomic crops such as soybeans. Indeed, a number of the high acreage transgenic crops grown in the world has been transformed by biolistics. It is the most dominant non- Agrobacterium alternative approach. The history of biolistic transformation and different biolistic approaches are discussed.

Organ-Specific Transcriptome Profiling of Metabolic and Pigment Biosynthesis Pathways in the Floral Ornamental Progenitor Species Anthurium amnicola Dressler

Anthurium amnicola Dressler possesses a number of desirable and novel ornamental traits such as a purple-colored upright spathe, profuse flowering, and floral scent, some of which have been introgressed into modern Anthurium cultivars. As a first step in identifying genes associated with these traits, the transcriptome from root, leaf, spathe, and spadix from an accession of A. amnicola was assembled, resulting in 28,019 putative transcripts representing 19,458 unigenes. Genes involved in pigmentation, including those for the metabolism of chlorophyll and the biosynthesis of carotenoids, phenylpropanoids, and flavonoids were identified. The expression levels of one MYB transcription factor was highly correlated with naringenin 3-dioxygenase (F3H) and dihydroflavonol-4-reductase (DFR) in leaves, whereas a bHLH transcription factor was highly correlated with flavonoid 3′-monooxygenase (F3′H) and a DFR in spathes, suggesting that these two transcription factors might regulate flavonoid and anthocyanin synthesis in A. amnicola. Gene sequence and expression data from four major organs of A. amnicola provide novel basal information for understanding the genetic bases of ornamental traits and the determinants and evolution of form and function in the Araceae.