TALEN-mediated targeted mutagenesis of more than 100 COMT copies/alleles in highly polyploid sugarcane improves saccharification efficiency without compromising biomass yield.

ABSTRACT: Sugarcane is the world's most efficient feedstock for commercial production of bioethanol due to its superior biomass production and accumulation of sucrose in stems. Integrating first- and second-generation ethanol conversion processes will enhance the biofuel yield per unit area by utilizing both sucrose and cell wall-bound sugars for fermentation. RNAi suppression of the lignin biosynthetic gene caffeic acid O-methyltransferase (COMT) has been demonstrated to improve bioethanol production from lignocellulosic biomass. Genome editing has been used in a number of crops for creation of loss of function phenotypes but is very challenging in sugarcane due to its highly polyploid genome. In this study, a conserved region of COMT was targeted with a single-transcription activator-like effector

SUBMITTER: Kannan B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5866949 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature