FIG Bioenergy Course

Plant Cell Structures and Improving Plant Biomass for Bioenergy “Bioenergy: Sustainability Opportuni=es and Challenges” – Agronomy 375 UW‐Madison, Fall 2010 October 27, 2010

1819 Scien3fic report on the produc3on of Ethanol from Wood (Photo by Tom Jeffries, Forest Products Lab and GLBRC)

Cell Wall Func=ons: 1. Structural support 2. Protec3on (bio3c and abio3c) 3. Determina3on of cell form

Three‐dimensional Structure of Wood, Meylan and BuSerfield

Scanning electron micrographs (SEM) of wood

Anatomy of Seed Plants, K. Esau

Plant Cell Wall Layers

Conceptual model of cellulose synthesis

Neil Taylor New Phytologist 178: 239–252

Cellulose Synthase Complexes

Images of Arabidopsis cells ac=vely synthesizing cellulose

50 nm!

microtubules!

Cellulose synthase may be linked to the cytoskeleton

Gunning and Steer, 1996

17

The predicted pathway of cellulose synthesis and secre3on in Gluconacetobacter xylinum

hSp://www.res.3tech.ac.jp/~junkan/english/cellulose/

www.glbrc.org

AFEX Pretreatment of Corn Cob Granule Sclereid Cells

Varia3on in plant form and composi3on • Between species • Within species

Arabidopsis thaliana Growth Rate Modifica3on

hSp://www.afdc.energy.gov/biomass/progs/search1.cgi 

Lignin 

Hypothesis: “Zips” (ester‐linked polymers) will not effect the func3on of lignin in a living plant, but will improve the ability to brake down cell wall material in a biorefinery.

Plant Cell Structures and Improving Plant Biomass for Bioenergy “Bioenergy: Sustainability Opportuni=es and Challenges” – Agronomy 375 UW‐Madison, Fall 2010 October 27, 2010