A multi-omics quantitative integrative analysis of lignin biosynthesis can advance the strategic engineering of wood for timber, pulp, and biofuels. Lignin is polymerized from three monomers (monolignols) produced by a grid-like pathway. The pathway in wood formation of Populus trichocarpa has at least 21 genes, encoding enzymes that mediate 37 reactions on 24 metabolites, leading to lignin and affecting wood properties. We perturb these 21 pathway genes and integrate transcriptomic, proteomic, fluxomic and phenomic data from 221 lines selected from ~2000 transgenics (6-month-old). The integrative analysis estimates how changing expression of pathway gene or gene combination affects protein abundance, metabolic-flux, metabolite concentrations, and 25 wood traits, including lignin, tree-growth, density, strength, and saccharification. The analysis then predicts improvements in any of these 25 traits individually or in combinations, through engineering expression of specific monolignol genes. The analysis may lead to greater understanding of other pathways for improved growth and adaptation.

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Ultrathin Co(3)O(4) nanostructures with high catalytic oxidation of CO were synthesized by heating cobalt foils under atmospheric conditions. The Co(3)O(4) nanostructures were selectively exposing (111) planes composed of plenty of Co(3+) cations. We observed ultrahigh catalytic oxidation of CO in Co(3)O(4) nanowires with about 3 nm diameter.

Binding energy variation due to the change of atomic coordination has formed the key to the different fascinating properties of carbon allotropes such as graphene nanoribbons, carbon nanotubes, graphite, and diamond. However, determination of the binding energies of these allotropes with a consistent understanding of the effect of bond order variation on the binding energy change has long been a great challenge. Here we show that a combination of the bond order-length-strength correlation theory (Sun, C. Q. Prog. Solid State Chem. 2007, 35, 1) and the photoelectron emission technique has enabled us to quantify the C1s binding energy of atomic carbon and its shift upon carbon allotrope formation. It has been confirmed that the C-C bond contracts spontaneously by up to 30% at the edges of graphene ribbons with respect to the bulk-diamond value of 0.154 nm. The C1s energy shifts positively by values from 1.32 eV for bulk diamond to 3.33 eV for graphene edges with respect to that of 282.57 eV for an isolated carbon atom. The calibration using the bond order-length-strength solution has also enabled estimation of the effective atomic coordination of the fewlayer graphene, which is critical for further investigations such as the layer-resolved Raman shift.