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Review article - Peer-reviewed, 2018

Genetic Engineering of Energy Crops to Reduce Recalcitrance and Enhance Biomass Digestibility

Yadav, M; Paritosh, K; Chawade, A; Pareek, N; Vivekanand, V

Abstract

Bioenergy, biofuels, and a range of valuable chemicals may be extracted from the abundantly available lignocellulosic biomass. To reduce the recalcitrance imposed by the complex cell wall structure, genetic engineering has been proposed over the years as a suitable solution to modify the genes, thereby, controlling the overall phenotypic expression. The present review provides a brief description of the plant cell wall structure and its compositional array i.e., lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose, wall proteins, and pectin, along with their effect on biomass digestibility. Also, this review discusses the potential to increase biomass by gene modification. Furthermore, the review highlights the potential genes associated with the regulation of cell wall structure, which can be targeted for achieving energy crops with desired phenotypes. These genetic approaches provide a robust and assured method to bring about the desired modifications in cell wall structure, composition, and characteristics. Ultimately, these genetic modifications pave the way for achieving enhanced biomass yield and enzymatic digestibility of energy crops, which is crucial for maximizing the outcomes of energy crop breeding and biorefinery applications.

Keywords

genetic engineering; biomass; biofuel; digestibility; enzymatic saccharification

Published in

Agriculture
2018, Volume: 8, number: 6, article number: 76

    Sustainable Development Goals

    SDG7 Affordable and clean energy

    UKÄ Subject classification

    Agricultural Science

    Publication identifier

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture8060076

    Permanent link to this page (URI)

    https://res.slu.se/id/publ/95401