Abstract
A major challenge for sustainable food, fuel, and fiber production is simultaneous genetic improvement of yield, biomass quality, and resilience to episodic environmental stress and climate change. For Populus and other forest trees, quality traits involve alterations in the secondary cell wall (SCW) of wood for traditional uses, as well as for a growing diversity of biofuels and bioproducts. Alterations in wood properties that are desirable for specific end uses can have negative effects on growth and stress tolerance. Understanding of the diverse roles of SCW genes is necessary for the genetic improvement of fast-growing, short-rotation trees that face perennial challenges in their growth and development. Here, we review recent progress into the synergies and antagonisms of SCW development and abiotic stress responses, particularly, the roles of transcription factors, SCW biogenesis genes, and paralog evolution.
Highlights
The plant secondary cell wall (SCW) plays important roles
We focus on trees, highlighting examples of regulatory and SCW metabolism genes that indicate both synergy and antagonism in achieving multiple goals of improved stress resilience, biomass yield, and biomass quality
To meet the grand challenge for sustainable food, fuel, and fiber under changing climate requires a holistic understanding of diverse roles of SCW genes during plant growth, development, and interactions with the environment
Summary
The plant secondary cell wall (SCW) plays important roles In the stem, it participates in structure, form, and function, as a part of the water transport system. Production of this network is influenced by external factors These interactions and their effect on biomass yield and quality traits are especially complex in trees where harvested wood is the result of a. In seasonally dry tropical climates, the intra-annual development of some tree taxa is characterized by distinct periods of rest and rapid shoot growth Temperate taxa such as Populus, Betula, and many Salix species are free growing, a major factor for suitability as short rotation woody biomass crops. We examine the interaction between the SCW and abiotic stress responses, highlighting examples of transcription factors (TFs) and SCW biogenesis genes that directly impact both biomass and stress response, as well as the sub-/ neo-functionalization of SCW biosynthesis gene paralogs in the plant response to abiotic stress
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