The domestication of forest trees for a more sustainable fiber bioeconomy has long been hindered ... more The domestication of forest trees for a more sustainable fiber bioeconomy has long been hindered by the complexity and plasticity of lignin, a biopolymer in wood that is recalcitrant to chemical and enzymatic degradation. Here, we show that multiplex CRISPR editing enables precise woody feedstock design for combinatorial improvement of lignin composition and wood properties. By assessing every possible combination of 69,123 multigenic editing strategies for 21 lignin biosynthesis genes, we deduced seven different genome editing strategies targeting the concurrent alteration of up to six genes and produced 174 edited poplar variants. CRISPR editing increased the wood carbohydrate-to-lignin ratio up to 228% that of wild type, leading to more-efficient fiber pulping. The edited wood alleviates a major fiber-production bottleneck regardless of changes in tree growth rate and could bring unprecedented operational efficiencies, bioeconomic opportunities, and environmental benefits.
... Prepared by Zander Myburg, Dario Grattapaglia, Brad Potts, Carlos Labate, Gerd Bossinger, Mar... more ... Prepared by Zander Myburg, Dario Grattapaglia, Brad Potts, Carlos Labate, Gerd Bossinger, Margaret Byrne, Rene Vaillancourt, Ron Sederoff, Simon Southerton ... In subtropical and temperate plantations, mean annual increments (MAI) average between 10 and 20 m3/ha. ...
Journal of Wood Chemistry and Technology, Apr 1, 2007
Dihydroconiferyl alcohol glucoside has been synthesized from cinnamic acid ethyl ester glucoside.... more Dihydroconiferyl alcohol glucoside has been synthesized from cinnamic acid ethyl ester glucoside. Two reaction systems were investigated; one involving hydrogenation of the cinnamic acid ethyl ester glucoside intermediate followed by dii- sobutylaluminium hydride (DIBAL-H) reduction of the ester to the alcohol, and the other involving DIBAL-H reduction of the cinnamic acid ethyl ester to the alcohol (coniferin) followed by hydrogenation.
... Biotechnology provides the opportunity to make such changes through genetic engineering in a ... more ... Biotechnology provides the opportunity to make such changes through genetic engineering in a matter of years, rather than centuries. In this issue, Vincent Chiang and colleagues1 show that an antisense construct for a gene in the lignin pathway can greatly reduce lignin ...
Transfer of plasmid DNA to Pinus taeda L. (loblolly pine) cotyledon cells by microprojectile bomb... more Transfer of plasmid DNA to Pinus taeda L. (loblolly pine) cotyledon cells by microprojectile bombardment has been demonstrated using beta-glucuronidase (GUS). GUS histochemical staining indicated active enzyme in localized centers (blue spots) 24 hours after bombardment. GUS expression declined during subsequent culture, but remained detectable in meristematic tissue 62 days post-bombardment, however, transgenic shoots were not recovered. Localized GUS expression events resulted predominantly from single-cell events containing one microprojectile. The staining pattern was complex, with indigo found both in the central target cell and in adjacent cells. Cellular damage sustained by GUS-positive cells ranged from undetectable to sufficiently extensive to cause cell death. Microprojectile bombardment provides a useful method to assay transient gene expression in loblolly pine and has potential for the production of transgenic plants in pine.
Somatic embryogenic cultures of white spruce (Picea glauca) represent a valuable system to study ... more Somatic embryogenic cultures of white spruce (Picea glauca) represent a valuable system to study molecular mechanisms regulating embryo development because many embryos of defined developmental stages can be generated. The inclusion of polyethylene glycol (PEG) in the maturation medium can improve the number and quality of embryos produced. To learn more about the mechanism of action of PEG, we analyzed transcript profiles of stage-specific embryos matured without (control) or with (PEG treated) PEG. RNA extracted from maturing spruce embryos was analyzed on DNA microarrays containing 2,178 cDNAs from loblolly pine (Pinus taeda). The efficiency of heterologous hybridization between spruce and pine species on microarrays has been documented previously (L. van Zyl, S. von Arnold, P. Bozhkov, Y. Chen, U. Egertsdotter, J. MacKay, R. Sederoff, J. Shen, L. Zelena, D. Clapham [2002] Comp Funct Genomics 3: 306–318). Several pine genes, including the apparent homologs to the Arabidopsis genes ZWILLE, FIDDLEHEAD, FUSCA, and SCARECROW, increased in expression after PEG treatments. These genes are known to be involved in the formation of the embryo body plan and in the control of the shoot and root apical meristems. The increased transcript levels of these genes in immature PEG-treated embryos suggest that PEG may improve the quality of spruce somatic embryos by promoting normal differentiation of the embryonic shoot and root. Changes in the transcript levels of many genes involved in sucrose catabolism and nitrogen assimilation and utilization were also observed between control and PEG-treated embryos.
The domestication of forest trees for a more sustainable fiber bioeconomy has long been hindered ... more The domestication of forest trees for a more sustainable fiber bioeconomy has long been hindered by the complexity and plasticity of lignin, a biopolymer in wood that is recalcitrant to chemical and enzymatic degradation. Here, we show that multiplex CRISPR editing enables precise woody feedstock design for combinatorial improvement of lignin composition and wood properties. By assessing every possible combination of 69,123 multigenic editing strategies for 21 lignin biosynthesis genes, we deduced seven different genome editing strategies targeting the concurrent alteration of up to six genes and produced 174 edited poplar variants. CRISPR editing increased the wood carbohydrate-to-lignin ratio up to 228% that of wild type, leading to more-efficient fiber pulping. The edited wood alleviates a major fiber-production bottleneck regardless of changes in tree growth rate and could bring unprecedented operational efficiencies, bioeconomic opportunities, and environmental benefits.
... Prepared by Zander Myburg, Dario Grattapaglia, Brad Potts, Carlos Labate, Gerd Bossinger, Mar... more ... Prepared by Zander Myburg, Dario Grattapaglia, Brad Potts, Carlos Labate, Gerd Bossinger, Margaret Byrne, Rene Vaillancourt, Ron Sederoff, Simon Southerton ... In subtropical and temperate plantations, mean annual increments (MAI) average between 10 and 20 m3/ha. ...
Journal of Wood Chemistry and Technology, Apr 1, 2007
Dihydroconiferyl alcohol glucoside has been synthesized from cinnamic acid ethyl ester glucoside.... more Dihydroconiferyl alcohol glucoside has been synthesized from cinnamic acid ethyl ester glucoside. Two reaction systems were investigated; one involving hydrogenation of the cinnamic acid ethyl ester glucoside intermediate followed by dii- sobutylaluminium hydride (DIBAL-H) reduction of the ester to the alcohol, and the other involving DIBAL-H reduction of the cinnamic acid ethyl ester to the alcohol (coniferin) followed by hydrogenation.
... Biotechnology provides the opportunity to make such changes through genetic engineering in a ... more ... Biotechnology provides the opportunity to make such changes through genetic engineering in a matter of years, rather than centuries. In this issue, Vincent Chiang and colleagues1 show that an antisense construct for a gene in the lignin pathway can greatly reduce lignin ...
Transfer of plasmid DNA to Pinus taeda L. (loblolly pine) cotyledon cells by microprojectile bomb... more Transfer of plasmid DNA to Pinus taeda L. (loblolly pine) cotyledon cells by microprojectile bombardment has been demonstrated using beta-glucuronidase (GUS). GUS histochemical staining indicated active enzyme in localized centers (blue spots) 24 hours after bombardment. GUS expression declined during subsequent culture, but remained detectable in meristematic tissue 62 days post-bombardment, however, transgenic shoots were not recovered. Localized GUS expression events resulted predominantly from single-cell events containing one microprojectile. The staining pattern was complex, with indigo found both in the central target cell and in adjacent cells. Cellular damage sustained by GUS-positive cells ranged from undetectable to sufficiently extensive to cause cell death. Microprojectile bombardment provides a useful method to assay transient gene expression in loblolly pine and has potential for the production of transgenic plants in pine.
Somatic embryogenic cultures of white spruce (Picea glauca) represent a valuable system to study ... more Somatic embryogenic cultures of white spruce (Picea glauca) represent a valuable system to study molecular mechanisms regulating embryo development because many embryos of defined developmental stages can be generated. The inclusion of polyethylene glycol (PEG) in the maturation medium can improve the number and quality of embryos produced. To learn more about the mechanism of action of PEG, we analyzed transcript profiles of stage-specific embryos matured without (control) or with (PEG treated) PEG. RNA extracted from maturing spruce embryos was analyzed on DNA microarrays containing 2,178 cDNAs from loblolly pine (Pinus taeda). The efficiency of heterologous hybridization between spruce and pine species on microarrays has been documented previously (L. van Zyl, S. von Arnold, P. Bozhkov, Y. Chen, U. Egertsdotter, J. MacKay, R. Sederoff, J. Shen, L. Zelena, D. Clapham [2002] Comp Funct Genomics 3: 306–318). Several pine genes, including the apparent homologs to the Arabidopsis genes ZWILLE, FIDDLEHEAD, FUSCA, and SCARECROW, increased in expression after PEG treatments. These genes are known to be involved in the formation of the embryo body plan and in the control of the shoot and root apical meristems. The increased transcript levels of these genes in immature PEG-treated embryos suggest that PEG may improve the quality of spruce somatic embryos by promoting normal differentiation of the embryonic shoot and root. Changes in the transcript levels of many genes involved in sucrose catabolism and nitrogen assimilation and utilization were also observed between control and PEG-treated embryos.
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Papers by Ronald Sederoff