Genomics of hemicellulose biosynthesis in sugarcane: understanding the relationship of genes and the recalcitrance of cell wall

• Grant number: 14/17486-6
• Support Opportunities: Program for Research on Bioenergy (BIOEN) - Regular Program Grants
• Duration: March 01, 2015 - February 28, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Plant Genetics
• Principal Investigator: Elisson Antonio da Costa Romanel
• Grantee: Elisson Antonio da Costa Romanel
• Host Institution: Escola de Engenharia de Lorena (EEL). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Lorena , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Marcos Silveira Buckeridge ; Renato Vicentini dos Santos

Abstract

The sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) is among the species that produces more ethanol from accumulated sucrose (40%) in mature plant. However, from a bioenergy point of view, two third of the carbons of sugarcane are not used for the production of bioethanol. One of the greatest challenges in the field of bioenergy is to obtain second-generation biofuel from biomass recalcitrance of the plant cell wall present in the bagasse, leaves and straw. To overcome this issue, it is necessary to know the cell wall components, genes and their molecular mechanisms responsible for cell wall biosynthesis. Recent research data produced by Dr. André Ferraz group from EEL/USP show that the total amount of hemicellulose and lignin found in the bagasse of sugarcane correlates with the high recalcitrance of the cell wall. Increasing amount of data has reported that removal of hemicellulose in pretreatment and/or its chemical modification throught genetic engineering in the hemicellulose biosynthesis genes results in a reduction of cell wall recalcitrance. Despite of advances in the functional characterization of the plants hemicellulose biosynthesis genes have begun in 2004 using model plant, a few genes of this pathway have been identified in sugarcane. Based on that, this project proposes the identification and annotation of hemicellulose biosynthesis genes in sugarcane through the use of computational and phylogenetic analysis using ESTs and RNA-Seq database; and correlate the expression profile of these genes in sugarcane hybrids with contrasting hemicellulose contents. The achievement of this project will allow the implemention of a Molecular Genetics laboratory in the "Departamento de Biotecnologia" from EEL/USP. This project will be conducted with the participation of Dr. André Ferraz, Dr. Marcos Buckeridge from USP/Capital and Dr. Renato Vicentini from UNICAMP, two master students from "Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biotecnologia Industrial" and four undergrade students. The implementation of such strategies will contribute to the annotation and a list of sugarcane genes involved in the hemicellulose polisaccharides biosynthesis, which may be used to manipulate the plant to expand production of ethanol without the need to increase the area planted. (AU)

Scientific publications

(5)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

BATISTA, DIEGO SILVA; KOEHLER, ANDREA DIAS; ROMANEL, ELISSON; DE SOUZA, VINICIUS CAIRUS; SILVA, TATIANE DULCINEIA; ALMEIDA, MAIRA CAROLINA; MACIEL, TALLES ELISSON F.; BUENO FERREIRA, PERACIO RAFAEL; SOUSA FELIPE, SERGIO HEITOR; SALDANHA, CLEBER WITT; et al. De novo assembly and transcriptome of Pfaffia glomerata uncovers the role of photoautotrophy and the P450 family genes in 20-hydroxyecdysone production. PROTOPLASMA, v. 256, n. 3, p. 601-614, MAY 2019. (14/06923-6, 14/17486-6)

FANELLI, AMANDA; REINHARDT, LAURIE; MATSUOKA, SIZUO; FERRAZ, ANDRE; SILVA, TATIANE DA FRANCA; HATFIELD, RONALD D.; ROMANEL, ELISSON. Biomass composition of two new energy cane cultivars compared with their ancestral Saccharum spontaneum during internode development. BIOMASS & BIOENERGY, v. 141, OCT 2020. (14/06923-6, 14/17486-6, 16/24391-7, 16/25785-9)

FANELLI, AMANDA; RANCOUR, DAVID M.; SULLIVAN, MICHAEL; KARLEN, STEVEN D.; RALPH, JOHN; RIANO-PACHON, DIEGO MAURICIO; VICENTINI, RENATO; SILVA, TATIANE DA FRANCA; FERRAZ, ANDRE; HATFIELD, RONALD D.; et al. Overexpression of a Sugarcane BAHD Acyltransferase Alters Hydroxycinnamate Content in Maize Cell Wall. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE, v. 12, APR 21 2021. (14/17486-6, 16/24391-7, 16/25785-9)

MAMEDES-RODRIGUES, T. C.; BATISTA, D. S.; NAPOLEAO, T. A.; CRUZ, A. C. F.; FORTINI, E. A.; NOGUEIRA, F. T. S.; ROMANEL, E.; OTONI, W. C.. Lignin and cellulose synthesis and antioxidative defense mechanisms are affected by light quality in Brachypodium distachyon. PLANT CELL TISSUE AND ORGAN CULTURE, v. 133, n. 1, p. 1-14, APR 2018. (14/06923-6, 14/17486-6, 16/24391-7)

CESARINO, IGOR; SIMOES, MARCELLA SIQUEIRA; BRITO, MICHAEL DOS SANTOS; FANELLI, AMANDA; SILVA, TATIANE DA FRANCA; ROMANEL, ELISSON. Building the wall: recent advances in understanding lignin metabolism in grasses. ACTA PHYSIOLOGIAE PLANTARUM, v. 38, n. 11, NOV 2016. (14/06923-6, 15/02527-1, 14/23017-9, 14/17486-6, 14/08468-4, 15/18361-5)