Wax or wood? Establishing the function of plant shine transcription factors

• Grant number: 15/50253-8
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: March 01, 2016
• End date: February 28, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Crop Science
• Agreement: Ohio State University
• Principal Investigator: Michael dos Santos Brito
• Grantee: Michael dos Santos Brito
• Principal researcher abroad: Erich Grotewold
• Institution abroad: Ohio State University, Columbus, United States
• Host Institution: Instituto Agronômico (IAC). Agência Paulista de Tecnologia dos Agronegócios (APTA). Secretaria de Agricultura e Abastecimento (São Paulo - Estado). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Plants with high content of lignocellulosic biomass are being selected for the production of second-generation ethanol as an alternative to fossil fuels. However, the presence of lignin, a polymeric phenolic component of the secondary cell wail, creates a significant bottleneck, because it difficults cellulose extraction (recalcitrance). Additionally, soluble phenolics inhibit the growth of fermenting microorganisms. To overpass these limitations, there significant interest in developing a new generation of biofuel crops with reduced crattered lignin/phenolic composition. Among the different classes of genes that could be targeted for engineering lignin and/or phenolic compounds, transcription factors (TFs) that control various aspects of lignin/phenolic biosynthesis provide very promising opportunities... (AU)