Integrative analysis of transgenic alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) suggests new metabolic control mechanisms for monolignol biosynthesis.

ABSTRACT: The entanglement of lignin polymers with cellulose and hemicellulose in plant cell walls is a major biological barrier to the economically viable production of biofuels from woody biomass. Recent efforts of reducing this recalcitrance with transgenic techniques have been showing promise for ameliorating or even obviating the need for costly pretreatments that are otherwise required to remove lignin from cellulose and hemicelluloses. At the same time, genetic manipulations of lignin biosynthetic enzymes have sometimes yielded unforeseen consequences on lignin composition, thus raising the question of whether the current understanding of the pathway is indeed correct. To address this question systemically, we developed and applied a novel modeling approach that, instead of analyzing the path

SUBMITTER: Lee Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3098223 | biostudies-literature | 2011 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature