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