Lignin Composition Research Articles

Analytical Pyrolysis and Mass Spectrometry to Characterise Lignin in Archaeological Wood

This review describes the capability of analytical pyrolysis-based techniques to provide data on lignin composition and on the chemical alteration undergone by lignin in archaeological wooden objects. Applications of Direct Exposure Mass Spectrometry (DE-MS), Evolved Gas Analysis Mass Spectrometry (EGA-MS), and single and double-shot Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) in archaeological lignin characterisation are described. With comparison to cellulose and hemicelluloses, lignin is generally less prone to most degradation processes affecting archaeological artefacts in burial environments, especially waterlogged ones, which are the most favourable for wood preservation. Nevertheless, lignin also undergoes significant chemical changes. As wood from waterlogged environments is mainly composed of lignin, knowledge of its chemical structure and degradation pathways is fundamental for choosing preventive conservation conditions and for optimising consolidation methods and materials, which directly interact with the residual lignin. Analytical pyrolysis coupled with mass spectrometry, used in several complementary operational modes, can gather information regarding the chemical modifications and the state of preservation of lignin, especially concerning oxidation and depolymerisation phenomena. Several applications to the analysis of wood from archaeological artefacts affected by different conservation problems are presented to showcase the potential of analytical pyrolysis in various scenarios that can be encountered when investigating archaeological waterlogged wood.

In situ microwave assisted extraction of clove buds to isolate essential oil, polyphenols, and lignocellulosic compounds

Clove buds is a spice of relevance in food, traditional medicine, pharmaceutics and cosmetics and, among the spices, they have the highest content of total polyphenols with exceptional antiviral and antimicrobial properties. Various approaches have been reported for the isolation of essential oil from clove buds. Nonetheless, the qualitative and quantitative analysis of hydrosoluble polyphenols and solid residues simultaneously yielded during the extraction process has not been explored yet. This work is focused on the analysis of some variables effect on yield and composition of the clove buds essential oils on a green microwave assisted extraction, and the characterization and quantification of the different compounds obtained from the extraction process. A versatile coaxial dipole antenna, to directly apply the electromagnetic energy inside the extraction medium, was used to thermally activate the hydrodistillation. The composition profiles of clove buds essential oil and hydrosoluble polyphenols obtained during in-situ microwave assisted extraction (IMWAE) were analysed and quantified by head space gas chromatography mass spectrometry (HS-GC–MS) and liquid chromatography with UV/visible diode array/fluorescence detector (HPLC-DAD-FD). The solid residue was characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and its composition in term of lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose was predicted. The green IMWAE process was compared with the conventional hydrodistillation (CH) in terms of yield and quality of isolated products. Thermogravimetry coupled to FTIR analyses of the evolved gases from the solid residue evidenced that the solid residue obtained from IMWAE of clove buds is richer in cellulose-hemicellulose than the residue obtained from CH. This can be because of microwaves that allow to remove a higher amount of phenolic compounds/lignin oligomers. The enthalpy of combustion values (ΔcH) (kJ/g) of IMWAE and CH residues were determined by calorimetric combustion and were compared with the –ΔcH (kJ/g) values calculated using the hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin compositions predicted by partial least square chemometrics. The ΔcH highlighted the energetic features of solid residues from IMWAE and CH for their potential uses as alternative biomass for fuel production and here firstly reported for this kind of biomass. The extraction approach here presented is environmentally friendly, highly flexible, easily controllable, time saving, and enables to break the scale-up barrier in microwave assisted industrial processes aimed to valorise aromatic herbs and eventually to exploit vegetable wasting materials. This leads to a lowering of production costs and, therefore, of the market price of isolated extracts from aromatic herbs.

The influence of lignocellulose on biomass pyrolysis product distribution and economics via steady state process simulation

Pyrolysis is one of the most commonly used methods for deriving renewable energy from biomass and is the first step of many thermal processes. A simulation model was developed in SuperPro Designer (SPD) to simulate the pyrolysis of biomass and its individual lignocellulosic components. The model was used to study the pyrolytic behaviours of biomass, predict product yield and to investigate the economic aspects of biomass pyrolysis. It is a more comprehensive and updated version of existing models detailing individual mechanisms during reaction. The proposed model has been verified using experimental data and counter-verified using literature-obtained experimental values. In both cases, the model predicted values within 10 % of the actual data. The model was then used to predict the pyrolysis of a matrix of 75 samples with varying cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin compositions. Results showed a clear product distribution which is heavily influenced by the biomass lignocellulosic components. Biomass with high cellulose content would lead to products rich in bio-oil, whilst hemicellulose-dominant biomass would yield products rich in bio-gas. Biomass with high proportion of lignin would result in products rich in bio-char. Economic evaluation and sensitivity analysis have shown that the lignocellulosic components collectively influence the economic performance of biomass pyrolysis.

Comparative Analysis of Lignins of Various Plant Forms by 31P NMR Spectroscopy

Lignin is one of the most abundant biopolymers. Information about the functional composition and structure of various lignins may be useful in the study of biosynthesis processes in plants. The subject of the article is the determination of 31P NMR spectroscopy possibilities to identify lignins obtained from various plant forms. To obtain spectra on 31P nuclei, a modification of the studied samples was applied by phosphitylating their OH-groups with a special reagent. We obtained qualitative and quantitative analysis of samples of softwood and hardwood lignins and herbaceous plants. According to the NMR spectra we noted the differences in composition and structure of the studied lignins. We confirmed that the structure of lignins of softwood and hardwood wood mainly contain guaiacilpropane and syringylpropane structural units, respectively. We found that lignins of herbaceous plants contain all types of OH-groups characteristic for lignins, including p-hydroxyphenyl groups. It was observed that samples of herbaceous plants lignins contain fragments of flavonoid structures in most cases. The 31P NMR spectrum of quercetin, as the flavonoids representative, was registered and also modeled using the ACDLabs software package to confirm the presence of flavone structures in the macromolecules of the herbaceous lignins.

Comparative transcriptome profiling reveals that brassinosteroid-mediated lignification plays an important role in garlic adaption to salt stress

Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is an economically important vegetable crop which is used worldwide for culinary and medicinal purposes. Soil salinity constrains the yield components of garlic. Understanding the responsive mechanism of garlic to salinity is crucial to improve its tolerance. To address this problem, two garlic cultivars differing in salt tolerance were used to investigate the long-term adaptive responses to salt stress at phenotype and transcriptome levels. Phenotypic analysis showed four-week salt stress significantly decreased the yield components of salt-sensitive cultivar. Transcriptomes of garlics were de novo assembled and mined for transcriptional activities regulated by salt stress. The results showed that photosynthesis, energy allocation, and secondary metabolism were commonly enriched in both sensitive and tolerant genotypes. Moreover, distinct responsive patterns were also observed between the two genotypes. Compared with the salt-tolerant genotype, most transcripts encoding enzymes in the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway were coordinately down regulated in the salt-sensitive genotype, resulting in alternation of the content and composition of lignin. Meanwhile, transcripts encoding the enzymes in the brassinosteroid (BR) biosynthesis pathway were also systematically down regulated in the salt-sensitive genotypes. Taken together, these results suggested that BR-mediated lignin accumulation possibly plays an important role in garlic adaption to salt stress. These findings expand the understanding of responsive mechanism of garlic to salt stress.

Characterization of Two New brown midrib1 Mutations From an EMS-Mutagenic Maize Population for Lignocellulosic Biomass Utilization.

Gene mutations linked to lignin biosynthesis are responsible for the brown midrib (bm) phenotypes. The bm mutants have a brown-reddish midrib associated with changes in lignin content and composition. Maize bm1 is caused by a mutation of the cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase gene ZmCAD2. Here, we generated two new bm1 mutant alleles (bm1-E1 and bm1-E2) through EMS mutagenesis, which contained a single nucleotide mutation (Zmcad2-1 and Zmcad2-2). The corresponding proteins, ZmCAD2-1 and ZmCAD2-2 were modified with Cys103Ser and Gly185Asp, which resulted in no enzymatic activity in vitro. Sequence alignment showed that CAD proteins have high similarity across plants and that Cys103 and Gly185 are conserved in higher plants. The lack of enzymatic activity when Cys103 was replaced for other amino acids indicates that Cys103 is required for its enzyme activity. Enzymatic activity of proteins encoded by CAD genes in bm1-E plants is 23–98% lower than in the wild type, which leads to lower lignin content and different lignin composition. The bm1-E mutants have higher saccharification efficiency in maize and could therefore provide new and promising breeding resources in the future.

Field Evaluation of Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) Lines that Overexpress Two Monolignol-Related Genes that Alter Cell Wall Composition

Modifying lignin content and composition of cell walls are key targets for bioenergy feedstock improvement for a range of renewable chemical applications. Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) is a drought-tolerant C4 grass being developed as a dedicated bioenergy feedstock. The monolignol biosynthetic pathway produces the hydroxycinnamic subunits of lignin, a major target to increase the energy content of sorghum biomass for thermal bioenergy conversion processes. SbMyb60 is a transcription factor linked to the activation of the monolignol biosynthetic pathway and caffeoyl CoA O-methyltransferase (SbCCoAOMT) is a S-adenosyl methionine (SAM)–dependent O-methyltransferase responsible for the methylation of caffeoyl-CoA to generate feruloyl-CoA in this pathway. Overexpression of each gene resulted in increased energy content of biomass and increased levels of several aromatic compounds in previous greenhouse experiments. To assess how SbMyb60 and SbCCoAOMT overexpression lines performed under field conditions, these lines were planted in field trials over two growing seasons, 2017 and 2018, and the effects on lignin composition and content as well as agronomic traits were assessed. Field-grown plants of SbMyb60 and SbCCoAOMT overexpression lines had increased total energy and phenolic compounds. Furthermore, two SbMyb60 transgenic events, SbMyb-10a and SbMyb-15a, with decreased stover yield and seed set were combined with three sorghum lines, N32, N4692, and Tx3118, to investigate whether yield reduction could be rescued. Hybrids improved yield of SbMyb60-15a; however, hybrids were unable to improve performance for SbMyb60-10a. Overall, these results demonstrated that field-grown sorghum overexpressing SbMyb60 or SbCCoAOMT can have biomass with increased phenolic compounds and total energy.

Distribution, sources, and decomposition of soil organic matter along a salinity gradient in estuarine wetlands characterized by C:N ratio, δ13 C-δ15 N, and lignin biomarker.

Despite increasing recognition of the critical role of coastal wetlands in mitigating climate change, sea-level rise, and salinity increase, soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration mechanisms in estuarine wetlands remain poorly understood. Here, we present new results on the source, decomposition, and storage of SOC in estuarine wetlands with four vegetation types, including single Phragmites australis (P, habitat I), a mixture of P. australis and Suaeda salsa (P+S, habitat II), single S. salsa (S, habitat III), and tidal flat (TF, habitat IV) across a salinity gradient. Values of δ13 C increased with depth in aerobic soil layers (0-40cm) but slightly decreased in anaerobic soil layers (40-100cm). The δ15 N was significantly enriched in soil organic matter at all depths than in the living plant tissues, indicating a preferential decomposition of 14 N-enriched organic components. Thus, the kinetic isotope fractionation during microbial degradation and the preferential substrate utilization are the dominant mechanisms in regulating isotopic compositions in aerobic and anaerobic conditions, respectively. Stable isotopic (δ13 C and δ15 N), elemental (C and N), and lignin composition (inherited (Ad/Al)s and C/V) were not completely consistent in reflecting the differences in SOC decomposition or accumulation among four vegetation types, possibly due to differences in litter inputs, root distributions, substrate quality, water-table level, salinity, and microbial community composition/activity. Organic C contents and storage decreased from upstream to downstream, likely due to primarily changes in autochthonous sources (e.g., decreased onsite plant biomass input) and allochthonous materials (e.g., decreased fluvially transported upland river inputs, and increased tidally induced marine algae and phytoplankton). Our results revealed that multiple indicators are essential to unravel the degree of SOC decomposition and accumulation, and a combination of C:N ratios, δ13 C, δ15 N, and lignin biomarker provides a robust approach to decipher the decomposition and source of sedimentary organic matter along the river-estuary-ocean continuum.

Analysis of the functional group composition of the spruce and birch phloem lignin

In this article, the functional group composition of the spruce (Pícea ábies) and birch (Bétula péndula) phloem lignin is described. The features of the chemical structure were studied by analyzing dioxane lignin using the elemental analysis, UV–Vis, FT-IR, and 1D NMR spectroscopy. For comparison, samples of xylem dioxane lignin isolated from the corresponding wood species were also analyzed. FT-IR spectroscopy data suggest that the lignins of birch phloem and xylem are similar in chemical structure. However, there are differences in absorption bands in the spectra of spruce dioxane lignin, which indicate the opposite. Quantitative analysis of the functional group composition was performed using 13C and 31P NMR data. It was found that free phenolic hydroxyl groups of catechol and p-hydroxyphenyl types are dominated in the composition of spruce phloem lignin. Birch phloem lignin has a qualitative and quantitative composition of functional groups characteristic of hardwood lignins. However, the content of G-units is greater than S-units, in contrast to the birch xylem lignin, where S-units predominate. The revealed differences are relevant from the point of view of plant physiology. The practical significance of the study is connected with understanding the reactivity of lignins when considering the chemical processing of tree bark.

Experimental Analysis on Water Absorption Behaviour of Natural Composite Materials

This research work deals the fabrication process of naturally available composite fibers with appropriate proportions. Though Natural fiber based composite materials are occupies the suitable position in the Aircraft Manufacturing process. Compositions of cellulose and lignin in the fibres are the low influencing alternative for the other form of composites and that comes under the category of Natural Fibre Composites. In order to strengthen the Natural Composite Materials the fibre reinforced composite materials are basically reduce the percentage of volume comparatively to the natural Composites very high volume fraction especially to provide strength and stiffness. To enhance the materials quality of Natural Composite Materials the water absorption as well as the tensile analysis has been experimented with the combinations of coir and hemp natural composite. The surface treatment process said to be Alkaline was applied to the combinations of coir and hemp. Hand layup method has been used to fabricate the expected laminates with proper thickness and dimensions. Finally the fabricated samples were subjected to water absorption test through which the mechanical property has been observed. During this process coir and hemp were proportionally mixed in the ratio of 0:100, 100:0, 25:75, 50:50 and 75:25. During the heat treatment process, the simplest equipment Hot Air oven has been used for maintain the desired temperature to dry the samples.

Efficiency of protein extraction from palm kernel cake via different chemical extraction methods

Protein isolation from defatted palm kernel cake (DPKC) was investigated under 3 conditions, including different chemical reagents (alkaline, saline, acidic), concentrations in the range of 0.01-0.3M and reaction time (0.5-4 h). The reaction contained 1 g biomass in 50 mL of solutions, with mixing speed 250 rpm, and the extraction occurred at 35°C for 2 hrs. Extractable protein of 35.06%, 12.40% and 4.34% based on available protein in the raw material were obtained in aqueous of 0.25M NaOH, 0.01M NaCl and 0.1M HCl. Afterward, DPKC was isolated with 0.25M NaOH for 0.5, 1, 2, 3 and 4 hrs, achieving the protein concentration of 24.16%, 28.99%, 32.72%, 34.39%, and 34.84%, respectively. The protein isolation process resulted in 48.32-60.57 %w/w and 7.27-34.60 %w/w removals of protein and ash, according to analysis of the solid residues. The oil extraction process mostly effected the composition of lignin, which can remove lignin up to 54.71% (w/w).

A Cellulosic Fruit Derived from Nerium oleander Biomaterial: Chemical Characterization and Its Valuable Use in the Biosorption of Methylene Blue in a Batch Mode.

Cellulose substrate waste has demonstrated great potential as a biosorbent of pollutants from contaminated water. In this study, Nerium oleander fruit, an agricultural waste biomaterial, was used for the biosorption of methylene blue from synthetic solution. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy indicated the presence of the main absorption peak characteristics of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin compositions. X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern exhibited peaks at 2θ = 14.9° and 2θ = 22°, which are characteristics of cellulose I. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed a rough and heterogeneous surface intercepted by some cavities. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed more than a thermal decomposition point, suggesting that Nerium fruit is composed of cellulose and noncellulosic matters. The pHpzc value of Nerium surface was experimentally determined to be 6.2. Nerium dosage, pH, contact time, dye concentration, and temperature significantly affected the adsorption capacity. The adsorption capacity reached 259 mg/g at 19 °C. The mean free energy ranged from 74.53 to 84.52 KJ mol−1, suggesting a chemisorption process. Thermodynamic parameters define a chemical, exothermic, and nonspontaneous mechanism. The above data suggest that Nerium fruit can be used as an excellent biomaterial for practical purification of water without the need to impart chemical functionalization on its surface.

Genetic, transcriptional, and regulatory landscape of monolignol biosynthesis pathway in Miscanthus\u2009\xd7\u2009giganteus

BackgroundMiscanthus × giganteus is widely recognized as a promising lignocellulosic biomass crop due to its advantages of high biomass production, low environmental impacts, and the potential to be cultivated on marginal land. However, the high costs of bioethanol production still limit the current commercialization of lignocellulosic bioethanol. The lignin in the cell wall and its by-products released in the pretreatment step is the main component inhibiting the enzymatic reactions in the saccharification and fermentation processes. Hence, genetic modification of the genes involved in lignin biosynthesis could be a feasible strategy to overcome this barrier by manipulating the lignin content and composition of M. × giganteus. For this purpose, the essential knowledge of these genes and understanding the underlying regulatory mechanisms in M. × giganteus is required.ResultsIn this study, MgPAL1, MgPAL5, Mg4CL1, Mg4CL3, MgHCT1, MgHCT2, MgC3′H1, MgCCoAOMT1, MgCCoAOMT3, MgCCR1, MgCCR2, MgF5H, MgCOMT, and MgCAD were identified as the major monolignol biosynthetic genes in M. × giganteus based on genetic and transcriptional evidence. Among them, 12 genes were cloned and sequenced. By combining transcription factor binding site prediction and expression correlation analysis, MYB46, MYB61, MYB63, WRKY24, WRKY35, WRKY12, ERF021, ERF058, and ERF017 were inferred to regulate the expression of these genes directly. On the basis of these results, an integrated model was summarized to depict the monolignol biosynthesis pathway and the underlying regulatory mechanism in M. × giganteus.ConclusionsThis study provides a list of potential gene targets for genetic improvement of lignocellulosic biomass quality of M. × giganteus, and reveals the genetic, transcriptional, and regulatory landscape of the monolignol biosynthesis pathway in M. × giganteus.

SULFATION OF ABIES ETHANOL LIGNIN WITH COMPLEXES OF SULFUR TRIOXIDE WITH 1,4-DIOXANE AND PYRIDINE

In this work, we optimized the process of sulfating abies ethanol lignin with complexes of sulfuric anhydride with pyridine and 1,4-dioxane. Experimentally found are the conditions for the implementation of the process of sulfation of abies ethanol lignin by complexes of sulfur trioxide with 1,4-dioxane and pyridine, providing a high sulfur content (12.0–12.6%). It was shown that a high sulfur content of 12.0–13.5% (mass.) in the obtained ethanol lignin sulfate is achieved when the ratio of the amount of chlorosulfonic acid to the amount of abies ethanol lignin is 20.22 : 1 mmol : g and the duration of the sulfation process is 60–120 min and independent of the nature of the sulfating complex. The structure and composition of water-soluble sulfated abies ethanol lignin are confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography and elemental analysis. In the FTIR spectra of sulfated abies ethanol lignin, in comparison with the FTIR spectra of the initial abies ethanol lignin, there are absorption bands in the region of 1270–1260, 1220–1212, 861–803 cm-1, corresponding to vibrations of sulfate groups. Compared to the initial lignin, sulfated abies ethanol lignin has a low degree of polydispersity. In particular, there was an increase in Mw c ~1.5 kDa to ~3.4 kDa in lignin sulfated for 30 min and a decrease in polydispersity from 2.59 to 1.22 compared to the initial abies ethanol lignin. With an increase in the sulfation time, the profile of the molecular mass distribution curve shifts to a high molecular weight region, with a simultaneous increase in polydispersity to 1.5 and Mw increases to ~4.3 kDa.

Substrate Specificity of LACCASE8 Facilitates Polymerization of Caffeyl Alcohol for C-Lignin Biosynthesis in the Seed Coat of Cleome hassleriana.

Catechyl lignin (C-lignin) is a linear homopolymer of caffeyl alcohol found in the seed coats of diverse plant species. Its properties make it a natural source of carbon fibers and high-value chemicals, but the mechanism of in planta polymerization of caffeyl alcohol remains unclear. In the ornamental plant Cleome hassleriana, lignin biosynthesis in the seed coat switches from guaiacyl lignin to C-lignin at ∼12 d after pollination. Here we found that the transcript profile of the laccase gene ChLAC8 parallels the accumulation of C-lignin during seed coat development. Recombinant ChLAC8 oxidizes caffeyl and sinapyl alcohols, generating their corresponding dimers or trimers in vitro, but cannot oxidize coniferyl alcohol. We propose a basis for this substrate preference based on molecular modeling/docking experiments. Suppression of ChLAC8 expression led to significantly reduced C-lignin content in the seed coats of transgenic Cleome plants. Feeding of 13C-caffeyl alcohol to the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) caffeic acid o-methyltransferase mutant resulted in no incorporation of 13C into C-lignin, but expressing ChLAC8 in this genetic background led to appearance of C-lignin with >40% label incorporation. These results indicate that ChLAC8 is required for C-lignin polymerization and determines lignin composition when caffeyl alcohol is available.

Root Lignin Composition and Content in Oil Palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) Genotypes with Different Defense Responses to Ganoderma boninense

Basal stem rot of oil palms (OPs) is caused by Ganoderma boninense, a white-rot fungus. Root tissues are the primary route for G. boninense penetration and subsequent pathogenesis on OPs. Little is known on the host lignin biochemistry and selectivity for G. boninense degradation. Oil palm genotypes with different defense responses to G. boninense (highly tolerant, intermediately tolerant, and susceptible) were assessed for root lignin biochemistry (lignin content and composition), plant functional traits (height, fresh weight, girth), chlorophyll content, and root elemental nutrient content. One-year-old seedlings and five-year-old trees were screened for root thioglycolic acid lignin (TGA) content, lignin composition, and elemental nutrient depositions, while plant functional traits were evaluated in the one-year-old seedlings only. The TGA lignin in all the oil palm seedlings and trees ranged from 6.37 to 23.72 pM µg−1, whereas the nitrobenzene oxidation products showed a syringyl (S)-to-guaiacyl (G) ratios of 0.18–0.48. Tolerant genotypes showed significantly lower lignin content compared to the intermediately tolerant and susceptible genotypes. Likewise, the S/G ratio was higher in genotypes with lower lignin content. The depositions of root Fe, Si, Ti, S, and Cu were significantly different among the oil palm genotypes with the susceptible genotypes showing greater content than the tolerant genotypes.

Wood and Pulping Properties Variation of Acacia crassicarpa A.Cunn. ex Benth. and Sampling Strategies for Accurate Phenotyping

Research Highlights: This study provides a comprehensive set of wood and pulping properties of Acacia crassicarpa A.Cunn. ex Benth. to assess variation and efficient sampling strategies for whole-tree level phenotyping. Background and Objectives: A. crassicarpa is an important tree species in Southeast Asia, with limited knowledge about its wood properties. The objective of this study was to characterize important wood properties and pulping performance of improved germplasm of the species. Furthermore, we investigated within-tree patterns of variation and evaluated the efficiency of phenotyping strategies. Materials and Methods: Second-generation progeny trials were studied, where forty 50-month-old trees were selected for destructive sampling and assessed for wood density, kraft pulp yield, α-cellulose, carbohydrate composition, and lignin content and composition (S/G ratio). We estimated the phenotypic correlations among traits determined within-tree longitudinal variation and its importance for whole-tree level phenotyping. Results: The mean whole-tree disc basic density was 481 kg/m3, and the screened kraft pulp yield was 53.8%. The reliabilities of each sampling position to predict whole-tree properties varied with different traits. For basic density, pulp yield, and glucose content, the ground-level sampling could reliably predict the whole-tree property. With near infrared reflectance spectroscopy predictions as an indirect measurement method for disc basic density, we verified reduced reliability values for breast height sampling but sufficiently correlated to allow accurate ranking and efficient selection of genotypes in a breeding program context. Conclusions: We demonstrated the quality of A. crassicarpa as a wood source for the pulping industry. The wood and pulping traits have high levels of phenotypic variation, and standing tree sampling strategies can be performed for both ranking and high-accuracy phenotyping purposes.

Lignin for pharmaceutical and biomedical applications – Could this become a reality?

Lignin is an aromatic biopolymer and a primary component of the cell walls in lignocellulosic biomass, where it constitutes between 15 and 40% of its dry mass. This percentage can vary, not only among plant species, but also among different cell types. Currently, the pulping and biorefinery industries worldwide extract large amounts of lignin, which is mostly combusted to generate the power needed to productively transform the lignocellulosic biomass. The specific composition and structure of this technical lignin depends on its botanical origin and on the extraction method applied. In general, however, lignin possesses antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, UV-absorbing capabilities, biocompatibility and low cytotoxicity. Moreover, lignin can increase the mechanical strength of numerous processed biomaterials. Accordingly, lignin is a promising aromatic raw material for the pharmaceutical and biomedical field. This work discusses the recent advances in the valorisation of lignin through the development of drug and gene delivery systems, wound dressings, tissue engineering or sunscreen actives. Finally, a brief overview on the current challenges and opportunities for making lignin-based products for pharmaceutical and medical applications a reality is also discussed.

Population Divergence along a Genetic Line of Least Resistance in the Tree Species Eucalyptus globulus.

The evolutionary response to selection depends on the distribution of genetic variation in traits under selection within populations, as defined by the additive genetic variance-covariance matrix (G). The structure and evolutionary stability of G will thus influence the course of phenotypic evolution. However, there are few studies assessing the stability of G and its relationship with population divergence within foundation tree species. We compared the G-matrices of Mainland and Island population groups of the forest tree Eucalyptus globulus, and determined the extent to which population divergence aligned with within-population genetic (co)variation. Four key wood property traits exhibiting signals of divergent selection were studied—wood density, extractive content, and lignin content and composition. The comparison of G-matrices of the mainland and island populations indicated that the G-eigenstructure was relatively well preserved at an intra-specific level. Population divergence tended to occur along a major direction of genetic variation in G. The observed conservatism of G, the moderate evolutionary timescale, and close relationship between genetic architecture and population trajectories suggest that genetic constraints may have influenced the evolution and diversification of the E. globulus populations for the traits studied. However, alternative scenarios, including selection aligning genetic architecture and population divergence, are discussed.

Identification and expression analysis of caffeoyl-coenzyme A O-methyltransferase family genes related to lignin biosynthesis in tea plant (Camellia sinensis).

Tea plant, an economically important crop, is used in producing tea, which is a non-alcoholic beverage. Lignin, the second most abundant component of the cell wall, reduces the tenderness of tea leaves and affects tea quality. Caffeoyl-coenzyme A O-methyltransferase (CCoAOMT) involved in lignin biosynthesis affects the efficiency of lignin synthesis and lignin composition. A total of 10 CsCCoAOMTs were identified based on tea plant genome. Systematic analysis of CCoAOMTs was conducted for its physicochemical properties, phylogenetic relationships, conserved motifs, gene structure, and promoter cis-element prediction. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that all the CsCCoAOMT proteins can be categorized into three clades. The promoters of six CsCCoAOMT genes possessed lignin-specific cis-elements, indicating they are possibly essential for lignin biosynthesis. According to the distinct tempo-spatial expression profiles, five genes were substantially expressed in eight tested tissues. Most CsCCoAOMT genes were expressed in stems and leaves in three tea plant cultivars 'Longjing 43,' 'Anjibaicha,' and 'Fudingdabai' by RT-qPCR detection and analysis. The expression levels of two genes (CsCCoAOMT5 and CsCCoAOMT6) were higher than those of the other genes. The expression levels of most CsCCoAOMT genes in 'Longjing 43' were significantly higher than that those in 'Anjibaicha' and 'Fudingdabai.' Correlation analysis revealed that only the expression levels of CsCCoAOMT6 were positively correlated with lignin content in the leaves and stems. These results lay a foundation for the future exploration of the roles of CsCCoAOMTs in lignin biosynthesis in tea plant.