Molecular Breeding of Grasses by Transgenic Approaches for Biofuel Production

Takahashi, Wataru; Takamizo, Tadashi

doi:10.5772/31889

Cited by 10 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 81 publications

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“…To expedite the genetic improvement of C4 grass species as lignocellulosic feedstocks, molecular breeding technologies are being considered (Jakob et al, 2009; Takahashi and Takamizo, 2012). Genetic engineering with the help of transformation technologies continues to be a topic of debate, especially in Europe, but public acceptance of genetically modified (GM) crops for dedicated biofuel purposes might be higher than for food and feed commodities.…”

Section: Genetic Improvementmentioning

confidence: 99%

The potential of C4 grasses for cellulosic biofuel production

Weijde¹,

Kamei²,

Torres³

et al. 2013

Front. Plant Sci.

170

134

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† These authors have contributed equally to this work.With the advent of biorefinery technologies enabling plant biomass to be processed into biofuel, many researchers set out to study and improve candidate biomass crops. Many of these candidates are C4 grasses, characterized by a high productivity and resource use efficiency. In this review the potential of five C4 grasses as lignocellulosic feedstock for biofuel production is discussed. These include three important field crops-maize, sugarcane and sorghum-and two undomesticated perennial energy grasses-miscanthus and switchgrass. Although all these grasses are high yielding, they produce different products. While miscanthus and switchgrass are exploited exclusively for lignocellulosic biomass, maize, sorghum, and sugarcane are dual-purpose crops. It is unlikely that all the prerequisites for the sustainable and economic production of biomass for a global cellulosic biofuel industry will be fulfilled by a single crop. High and stable yields of lignocellulose are required in diverse environments worldwide, to sustain a year-round production of biofuel. A high resource use efficiency is indispensable to allow cultivation with minimal inputs of nutrients and water and the exploitation of marginal soils for biomass production. Finally, the lignocellulose composition of the feedstock should be optimized to allow its efficient conversion into biofuel and other by-products. Breeding for these objectives should encompass diverse crops, to meet the demands of local biorefineries and provide adaptability to different environments. Collectively, these C4 grasses are likely to play a central role in the supply of lignocellulose for the cellulosic ethanol industry. Moreover, as these species are evolutionary closely related, advances in each of these crops will expedite improvements in the other crops. This review aims to provide an overview of their potential, prospects and research needs as lignocellulose feedstocks for the commercial production of biofuel.

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Section: Genetic Improvementmentioning

confidence: 99%

The potential of C4 grasses for cellulosic biofuel production

Weijde¹,

Kamei²,

Torres³

et al. 2013

Front. Plant Sci.

170

134

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…More recently, genetic engineering methods with the help of transformation technologies have been used to improve many species more efficiently, whereby useful traits have been introduced from a broader range of sources within an economically viable time frame (Jakob et al 2009;Takahashi and Takamizo 2012). Transformation is an important tool for improving the performance of crop species and effective transformation techniques should allow for the incorporation of foreign genes that improve crop traits efficiently.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation of Miscanthus sinensis

Hwang

Cho

Han

et al. 2013

Plant Cell Tiss Organ Cult

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Miscanthus species are tall perennial rhizomatous grasses with C4 photosynthesis originating from East Asia, and they are considered as important bioenergy crops for biomass production. In this study, Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system for M. sinensis was developed using embryogenic calli derived from mature seeds. In order to establish a stable system, optimum conditions to obtain highly regenerable and transformation-competent embryogenic calli were investigated, and embryogenic calli were efficiently induced with callus induction medium containing 3 mg L -1 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and 25 mM L-proline, at pH 5.7 with an induction temperature of 28°C. In addition, the embryogenic callus induction and regeneration potentials were compared between seven M. sinensis germplasms collected from several sites in Korea, which revealed that the germplasm SNU-M-045 had superior embryogenic callus induction and regeneration potentials. With this germplasm, the genetic transformation of M. sinensis was performed using Agrobacterium tumefaciens EHA105 carrying pCAM-BIA1300 with a green fluorescence protein gene as a reporter. After putative transgenic plants were obtained, the genomic integration of transgenes was confirmed by genomic PCR, transgene expression was validated by Northern blot analysis, and the number of transgene integration was confirmed by DNA gel blot analysis. Furthermore, the Agrobacteriummediated transformation of M. sinensis was also performed with pCAMBIA3301 which contains an herbicide resistance gene (BAR), and we obtained transgenic M. sinensis plants whose herbicide resistance was confirmed by spraying with BASTA Ò . Therefore, we have established a stable Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system for M. sinensis, and also successfully produced herbicide-resistant Miscanthus plants by introducing BAR gene via the established method.

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“…Root cultures can be used to study the interaction of roots with nematodes or mycorrhizas. Recently, plants have been modified by genetic engineers with the objective to increase the yield of cellulose or oil for the production of biofuels (Gressel 2008;Stokstad 2012;Takahashi and Takamizo 2012). Somatic embryogenesis is at the core of some of these biotechnological applications and is the focus of this book.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%