ALBERT

Description: Research and development activities directed toward commercial production of cellulosic ethanol have created the opportunity to dramatically increase the transformation of lignin to value-added products. Here, we highlight recent advances in this lignin valorization effort. Discovery of genetic variants in native populations of bioenergy crops and direct manipulation of biosynthesis pathways have produced lignin feedstocks with favorable properties for recovery and downstream conversion. Advances in analytical chemistry and computational modeling detail the structure of the modified lignin and direct bioengineering strategies for future targeted properties. Refinement of biomass pretreatment technologies has further facilitated lignin recovery, and this coupled with genetic engineering will enable new uses for this biopolymer, including low-cost carbon fibers, engineered plastics and thermoplastic elastomers, polymeric foams, fungible fuels, and commodity chemicals.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Ragauskas, Arthur J -- Beckham, Gregg T -- Biddy, Mary J -- Chandra, Richard -- Chen, Fang -- Davis, Mark F -- Davison, Brian H -- Dixon, Richard A -- Gilna, Paul -- Keller, Martin -- Langan, Paul -- Naskar, Amit K -- Saddler, Jack N -- Tschaplinski, Timothy J -- Tuskan, Gerald A -- Wyman, Charles E -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2014 May 16;344(6185):1246843. doi: 10.1126/science.1246843.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉BioEnergy Science Center, School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Institute of Paper Science and Technology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA. arthur.ragauskas@chemistry.gatech.edu. ; National Bioenergy Center and National Advanced Biofuels Consortium, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO 80402, USA. ; Department of Wood Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada. ; BioEnergy Science Center, Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203, USA. ; BioEnergy Science Center and National Advanced Biofuels Consortium, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO 80402, USA. ; BioEnergy Science Center, Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA. ; Energy and Environmental Science Directorate, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA. ; Biology and Soft Matter Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA. ; Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA. ; BioEnergy Science Center, Center for Environmental Research and Technology and Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Riverside, CA 92507, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24833396" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Eucalypts are the world's most widely planted hardwood trees. Their outstanding diversity, adaptability and growth have made them a global renewable resource of fibre and energy. We sequenced and assembled 〉94% of the 640-megabase genome of Eucalyptus grandis. Of 36,376 predicted protein-coding genes, 34% occur in tandem duplications, the largest proportion thus far in plant genomes. Eucalyptus also shows the highest diversity of genes for specialized metabolites such as terpenes that act as chemical defence and provide unique pharmaceutical oils. Genome sequencing of the E. grandis sister species E. globulus and a set of inbred E. grandis tree genomes reveals dynamic genome evolution and hotspots of inbreeding depression. The E. grandis genome is the first reference for the eudicot order Myrtales and is placed here sister to the eurosids. This resource expands our understanding of the unique biology of large woody perennials and provides a powerful tool to accelerate comparative biology, breeding and biotechnology.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Myburg, Alexander A -- Grattapaglia, Dario -- Tuskan, Gerald A -- Hellsten, Uffe -- Hayes, Richard D -- Grimwood, Jane -- Jenkins, Jerry -- Lindquist, Erika -- Tice, Hope -- Bauer, Diane -- Goodstein, David M -- Dubchak, Inna -- Poliakov, Alexandre -- Mizrachi, Eshchar -- Kullan, Anand R K -- Hussey, Steven G -- Pinard, Desre -- van der Merwe, Karen -- Singh, Pooja -- van Jaarsveld, Ida -- Silva-Junior, Orzenil B -- Togawa, Roberto C -- Pappas, Marilia R -- Faria, Danielle A -- Sansaloni, Carolina P -- Petroli, Cesar D -- Yang, Xiaohan -- Ranjan, Priya -- Tschaplinski, Timothy J -- Ye, Chu-Yu -- Li, Ting -- Sterck, Lieven -- Vanneste, Kevin -- Murat, Florent -- Soler, Marcal -- Clemente, Helene San -- Saidi, Naijib -- Cassan-Wang, Hua -- Dunand, Christophe -- Hefer, Charles A -- Bornberg-Bauer, Erich -- Kersting, Anna R -- Vining, Kelly -- Amarasinghe, Vindhya -- Ranik, Martin -- Naithani, Sushma -- Elser, Justin -- Boyd, Alexander E -- Liston, Aaron -- Spatafora, Joseph W -- Dharmwardhana, Palitha -- Raja, Rajani -- Sullivan, Christopher -- Romanel, Elisson -- Alves-Ferreira, Marcio -- Kulheim, Carsten -- Foley, William -- Carocha, Victor -- Paiva, Jorge -- Kudrna, David -- Brommonschenkel, Sergio H -- Pasquali, Giancarlo -- Byrne, Margaret -- Rigault, Philippe -- Tibbits, Josquin -- Spokevicius, Antanas -- Jones, Rebecca C -- Steane, Dorothy A -- Vaillancourt, Rene E -- Potts, Brad M -- Joubert, Fourie -- Barry, Kerrie -- Pappas, Georgios J -- Strauss, Steven H -- Jaiswal, Pankaj -- Grima-Pettenati, Jacqueline -- Salse, Jerome -- Van de Peer, Yves -- Rokhsar, Daniel S -- Schmutz, Jeremy -- England -- Nature. 2014 Jun 19;510(7505):356-62. doi: 10.1038/nature13308. Epub 2014 Jun 11.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉1] Department of Genetics, Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), University of Pretoria, Private bag X20, Pretoria 0028, South Africa [2] Genomics Research Institute (GRI), University of Pretoria, Private bag X20, Pretoria 0028, South Africa. ; 1] Laboratorio de Genetica Vegetal, EMBRAPA Recursos Geneticos e Biotecnologia, EPQB Final W5 Norte, 70770-917 Brasilia, Brazil [2] Programa de Ciencias Genomicas e Biotecnologia - Universidade Catolica de Brasilia SGAN 916, 70790-160 Brasilia, Brazil. ; 1] US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, 2800 Mitchell Drive, Walnut Creek, California 94598, USA [2] Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA. ; US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, 2800 Mitchell Drive, Walnut Creek, California 94598, USA. ; HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, 601 Genome Way, Huntsville, Alabama 35801, USA. ; Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Unit, Department of Biochemistry, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, Private bag X20, Pretoria 0028, South Africa. ; Laboratorio de Bioinformatica, EMBRAPA Recursos Geneticos e Biotecnologia, EPQB Final W5 Norte, 70770-917 Brasilia, Brazil. ; Laboratorio de Genetica Vegetal, EMBRAPA Recursos Geneticos e Biotecnologia, EPQB Final W5 Norte, 70770-917 Brasilia, Brazil. ; Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA. ; Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics (VIB), Ghent University, Technologiepark 927, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium. ; INRA/UBP UMR 1095, 5 Avenue de Beaulieu, 63100 Clermont Ferrand, France. ; Laboratoire de Recherche en Sciences Vegetales, UMR 5546, Universite Toulouse III, UPS, CNRS, BP 42617, 31326 Castanet Tolosan, France. ; 1] Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Unit, Department of Biochemistry, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, Private bag X20, Pretoria 0028, South Africa [2] Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, 3529-6270 University Blvd, Vancouver V6T 1Z4, Canada. ; Evolutionary Bioinformatics, Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Muenster, Huefferstrasse 1, D-48149, Muenster, Germany. ; 1] Evolutionary Bioinformatics, Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Muenster, Huefferstrasse 1, D-48149, Muenster, Germany [2] Department of Bioinformatics, Institute for Computer Science, University of Duesseldorf, Universitatsstrasse 1, 40225 Dusseldorf, Germany. ; Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA. ; 1] Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University, 2082-Cordley Hall, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA [2] Center for Genome Research and Biocomputing, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA. ; Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University, 2082-Cordley Hall, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA. ; Center for Genome Research and Biocomputing, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA. ; 1] Laboratorio de Biologia Evolutiva Teorica e Aplicada, Departamento de Genetica, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Av. Prof. Rodolpho Paulo Rocco, 21949900 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil [2] Departamento de Biotecnologia, Escola de Engenharia de Lorena-Universidade de Sao Paulo (EEL-USP), CP116, 12602-810, Lorena-SP, Brazil [3] Laboratorio de Genetica Molecular Vegetal (LGMV), Departamento de Genetica, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Av. Prof. Rodolpho Paulo Rocco, 21949900 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. ; Laboratorio de Genetica Molecular Vegetal (LGMV), Departamento de Genetica, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Av. Prof. Rodolpho Paulo Rocco, 21949900 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. ; Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra 0200, Australia. ; 1] Laboratoire de Recherche en Sciences Vegetales, UMR 5546, Universite Toulouse III, UPS, CNRS, BP 42617, 31326 Castanet Tolosan, France [2] IICT/MNE; Palacio Burnay - Rua da Junqueira, 30, 1349-007 Lisboa, Portugal [3] IBET/ITQB, Av. Republica, Quinta do Marques, 2781-901 Oeiras, Portugal. ; 1] IICT/MNE; Palacio Burnay - Rua da Junqueira, 30, 1349-007 Lisboa, Portugal [2] IBET/ITQB, Av. Republica, Quinta do Marques, 2781-901 Oeiras, Portugal. ; Arizona Genomics Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA. ; Dep. de Fitopatologia, Universidade Federal de Vicosa, Vicosa 36570-000, Brazil. ; Centro de Biotecnologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, 91501-970 Porto Alegre, Brazil. ; Science and Conservation Division, Department of Parks and Wildlife, Locked Bag 104, Bentley Delivery Centre, Western Australia 6983, Australia. ; GYDLE, 1363 av. Maguire, suite 301, Quebec, Quebec G1T 1Z2, Canada. ; Department of Environment and Primary Industries, Victorian Government, Melbourne, Victoria 3085, Australia. ; Melbourne School of Land and Environment, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia. ; School of Biological Sciences and National Centre for Future Forest Industries, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 55, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia. ; 1] School of Biological Sciences and National Centre for Future Forest Industries, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 55, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia [2] Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland 4558, Australia. ; 1] Genomics Research Institute (GRI), University of Pretoria, Private bag X20, Pretoria 0028, South Africa [2] Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Unit, Department of Biochemistry, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, Private bag X20, Pretoria 0028, South Africa. ; Departamento de Biologia Celular, Universidade de Brasilia, Brasilia 70910-900, Brazil. ; 1] Genomics Research Institute (GRI), University of Pretoria, Private bag X20, Pretoria 0028, South Africa [2] Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics (VIB), Ghent University, Technologiepark 927, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium. ; 1] US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, 2800 Mitchell Drive, Walnut Creek, California 94598, USA [2] HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, 601 Genome Way, Huntsville, Alabama 35801, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24919147" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: We report the draft genome of the black cottonwood tree, Populus trichocarpa. Integration of shotgun sequence assembly with genetic mapping enabled chromosome-scale reconstruction of the genome. More than 45,000 putative protein-coding genes were identified. Analysis of the assembled genome revealed a whole-genome duplication event; about 8000 pairs of duplicated genes from that event survived in the Populus genome. A second, older duplication event is indistinguishably coincident with the divergence of the Populus and Arabidopsis lineages. Nucleotide substitution, tandem gene duplication, and gross chromosomal rearrangement appear to proceed substantially more slowly in Populus than in Arabidopsis. Populus has more protein-coding genes than Arabidopsis, ranging on average from 1.4 to 1.6 putative Populus homologs for each Arabidopsis gene. However, the relative frequency of protein domains in the two genomes is similar. Overrepresented exceptions in Populus include genes associated with lignocellulosic wall biosynthesis, meristem development, disease resistance, and metabolite transport.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Tuskan, G A -- Difazio, S -- Jansson, S -- Bohlmann, J -- Grigoriev, I -- Hellsten, U -- Putnam, N -- Ralph, S -- Rombauts, S -- Salamov, A -- Schein, J -- Sterck, L -- Aerts, A -- Bhalerao, R R -- Bhalerao, R P -- Blaudez, D -- Boerjan, W -- Brun, A -- Brunner, A -- Busov, V -- Campbell, M -- Carlson, J -- Chalot, M -- Chapman, J -- Chen, G-L -- Cooper, D -- Coutinho, P M -- Couturier, J -- Covert, S -- Cronk, Q -- Cunningham, R -- Davis, J -- Degroeve, S -- Dejardin, A -- Depamphilis, C -- Detter, J -- Dirks, B -- Dubchak, I -- Duplessis, S -- Ehlting, J -- Ellis, B -- Gendler, K -- Goodstein, D -- Gribskov, M -- Grimwood, J -- Groover, A -- Gunter, L -- Hamberger, B -- Heinze, B -- Helariutta, Y -- Henrissat, B -- Holligan, D -- Holt, R -- Huang, W -- Islam-Faridi, N -- Jones, S -- Jones-Rhoades, M -- Jorgensen, R -- Joshi, C -- Kangasjarvi, J -- Karlsson, J -- Kelleher, C -- Kirkpatrick, R -- Kirst, M -- Kohler, A -- Kalluri, U -- Larimer, F -- Leebens-Mack, J -- Leple, J-C -- Locascio, P -- Lou, Y -- Lucas, S -- Martin, F -- Montanini, B -- Napoli, C -- Nelson, D R -- Nelson, C -- Nieminen, K -- Nilsson, O -- Pereda, V -- Peter, G -- Philippe, R -- Pilate, G -- Poliakov, A -- Razumovskaya, J -- Richardson, P -- Rinaldi, C -- Ritland, K -- Rouze, P -- Ryaboy, D -- Schmutz, J -- Schrader, J -- Segerman, B -- Shin, H -- Siddiqui, A -- Sterky, F -- Terry, A -- Tsai, C-J -- Uberbacher, E -- Unneberg, P -- Vahala, J -- Wall, K -- Wessler, S -- Yang, G -- Yin, T -- Douglas, C -- Marra, M -- Sandberg, G -- Van de Peer, Y -- Rokhsar, D -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2006 Sep 15;313(5793):1596-604.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA. gtk@ornl.gov〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16973872" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: To assess the genetic control of biomass distribution in trees, phenotypic variation in the distribution of dry mass to stems, branches, leaves, coarse roots, and fine roots was examined in two hybrid poplar (Populus trichocarpa Torr. & A. Gray (T) × Populus deltoides Bartr. ex Marsh. (D)) families grown under field conditions. Family 331 was an inbred F2 (TD × TD) pedigree, whereas family 13 was an outbred backcross BC1 (TD × D) pedigree. Fractional distribution of total whole-tree biomass to shoots and roots during their establishment year averaged (±SD) 0.62 ± 0.09 and 0.38 ± 0.09, respectively, across 247 genotypes in family 331, and 0.57 ± 0.06 and 0.43 ± 0.06, respectively, across 160 genotypes in family 13. In contrast, fractional distribution of total biomass in 2-year-old trees was 0.79 ± 0.04 to shoots and 0.21 ± 0.04 to roots. Allometric analysis indicated that as trees increased in age, biomass was preferentially distributed to stems and branches, whereas distribution to roots declined. Quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis for family 13 indicated 31 QTL (likelihood of odds 〉2.5) for traits measured. The percent phenotypic variation explained by any single QTL ranged from 7.5% to 18.3% and averaged 11.2% across all QTL. These results show that aboveground and belowground patterns of biomass distribution are under genetic control. This finding has wide-ranging implications for carbon sequestration, phytoremediation, and basic biological research in trees.