Open this publication in new window or tab >>Umeå Plant Science Centre, Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden.
RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, Stockholm, Sweden.
Umeå University, Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Chemistry.
Umeå Plant Science Centre, Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden.
Division of Glycoscience, Department of Chemistry, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, AlbaNova University Centre, Stockholm, Sweden; Wallenberg Wood Science Centre (WWSC), KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.
Umeå Plant Science Centre, Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden.
Laboratory of Growth Regulators, The Czech Academy of Sciences & Faculty of Science, Institute of Experimental Botany, Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic.
Laboratory of Growth Regulators, The Czech Academy of Sciences & Faculty of Science, Institute of Experimental Botany, Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic.
RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, Stockholm, Sweden.
Umeå University, Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Chemistry.
Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, ON, Toronto, Canada.
Division of Glycoscience, Department of Chemistry, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, AlbaNova University Centre, Stockholm, Sweden; Wallenberg Wood Science Centre (WWSC), KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.
Umeå Plant Science Centre, Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden.
Show others...
2025 (English)In: Plant Biotechnology Journal, ISSN 1467-7644, E-ISSN 1467-7652, Vol. 23, no 1, p. 174-197Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Wood of broad-leaf tree species is a valued source of renewable biomass for biorefinery and a target for genetic improvement efforts to reduce its recalcitrance. Glucuronoxylan (GX) plays a key role in recalcitrance through its interactions with cellulose and lignin. To reduce recalcitrance, we modified wood GX by expressing GH10 and GH11 endoxylanases from Aspergillus nidulans in hybrid aspen (Populus tremula L. × tremuloides Michx.) and targeting the enzymes to cell wall. The xylanases reduced tree height, modified cambial activity by increasing phloem and reducing xylem production, and reduced secondary wall deposition. Xylan molecular weight was decreased, and the spacing between acetyl and MeGlcA side chains was reduced in transgenic lines. The transgenic trees produced hypolignified xylem having thin secondary walls and deformed vessels. Glucose yields of enzymatic saccharification without pretreatment almost doubled indicating decreased recalcitrance. The transcriptomics, hormonomics and metabolomics data provided evidence for activation of cytokinin and ethylene signalling pathways, decrease in ABA levels, transcriptional suppression of lignification and a subset of secondary wall biosynthetic program, including xylan glucuronidation and acetylation machinery. Several candidate genes for perception of impairment in xylan integrity were detected. These candidates could provide a new target for uncoupling negative growth effects from reduced recalcitrance. In conclusion, our study supports the hypothesis that xylan modification generates intrinsic signals and evokes novel pathways regulating tree growth and secondary wall biosynthesis.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
John Wiley & Sons, 2025
Keywords
fungal xylanases, Glucuronoxylan, lignocellulose, secondary cell wall, transgenic aspen, wood development
National Category
Plant Biotechnology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-231319 (URN)10.1111/pbi.14487 (DOI)001337801200001 ()39436777 (PubMedID)2-s2.0-85207243110 (Scopus ID)
Funder
Knut and Alice Wallenberg FoundationVinnovaSwedish Research Council, 2020-04720The Kempe FoundationsBio4EnergySwedish Foundation for Strategic Research, RBP14-0011
2024-11-042024-11-042025-01-12Bibliographically approved