Project description:After tomato fruits harvesting huge amounts of biomass residues, including plant and immature fruit, remaining in the field can be utilized to produce bioenergy. Little is known about the molecular aspects underlying tomato plant biomass production and hydrolysis. To identify genes involved in the regulation of plant biomass accumulation and composition, two Solanum pennellii introgression lines (ILs) with contrasting phenotypes for plant architecture and biomass characteristics, were analyzed. A multiple approach aimed to characterize such near-isogenic lines was carried out for studying gene expression dynamics, microscopy cell traits and qualitative and quantitative cell wall chemical compounds variation. Transcriptomic analysis showed that the enhanced biomass production observed in IL2-6 line is due to a more effective coordination of chloroplast and mitochondria energy fluxes (photosynthesis, cell division, cell wall and hormone metabolism activation). In parallel, microscopy analysis revealed a higher number of cells and chloroplasts in leaf epidermis in the high biomass line whilst chemical measurements on the two lines pointed out striking differences in the cell wall composition and organization. Taken together, our findings shed light on the mechanisms underlying the tomato biomass production and open new routes for improving the tomato lignocellulosic processability.
Project description:Clipping (i.e., harvesting aboveground plant biomass) is common in agriculture and for bioenergy production. However, microbial responses to clipping in the context of climate warming are poorly understood. We investigated the interactive effects of grassland warming and clipping on soil properties, plant and microbial communities, in particular microbial functional genes. Clipping alone did not change the plant biomass production, but warming and clipping combined increased the C4 peak biomass by 47% and belowground net primary production by 110%. Clipping alone and in combination with warming decreased the soil carbon input from litter by 81% and 75%, respectively. With less carbon input, the abundances of genes involved in degrading relatively recalcitrant carbon increased by 38-137% in response to either clipping or the combined treatment, which could weaken the long-term soil carbon stability and trigger a positive feedback to warming. Clipping alone also increased the abundance of genes for nitrogen fixation, mineralization and denitrification by 32-39%. The potentially stimulated nitrogen fixation could help compensate for the 20% decline in soil ammonium caused by clipping alone, and contribute to unchanged plant biomass. Moreover, clipping tended to interact antagonistically with warming, especially on nitrogen cycling genes, demonstrating that single factor studies cannot predict multifactorial changes. These results revealed that clipping alone or in combination with warming altered soil and plant properties, as well as the abundance and structure of soil microbial functional genes. The aboveground biomass removal for biofuel production needs to be re-considered as the long-term soil carbon stability may be weakened.
Project description:Biomass burning, including household fuels and wildfires, affects billions globally, yet the unique health-related chemical components of PM2.5 emitted from these sources remain poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that combustion of biomass—yak dung and pine—generates abundant hormone-like components within PM2.5, including natural, synthetic steroids and endocrine disruptors such as estradiol, testosterone enanthate and bisphenol A. Integrated network toxicology and whole-transcriptome sequencing reveal that these hormone compounds may exert distinct, fuel-specific respiratory toxicity by targeting critical genes (e.g., HIF1A or INHBA), functions (e.g., regulation of progesterone secretion or protein serine/threonine kinase activity) and pathways (e.g., vitamin digestion and absorption or RNA polymerase) via multi-level RNA regulation and mutagenic events. Our modelling estimates that mitigating this exposure could prevent ~66,000 premature deaths and yield economic benefits exceeding $11 billion annually. These findings uncover a previously unrecognized class of environmental hormonal pollutants generated by biomass combustion, redefine the health risks of air pollution, and provide a mechanistic foundation for advancing environmental justice and achieving Sustainable Development Goals in vulnerable populations worldwide.
Project description:Filamentous fungi are widely used in the production of biomass degrading enzymes, e.g. cellulases and pectinases. In order to study the secretome of biomass degrading fungi, proteomics studies were carried out on the extracellular proteins of fungal strains.