New Feedstocks for Bioethanol Production: Energy Cane and Agave

Raya, Fábio Trigo; Abreu, Luís Guilherme F. de; Marone, Marina Püpke; Salvador, Mozar de Araújo; Bressiani, José Antônio; Laborde, José Ignacio del Real; Pereira, Gonçalo Amarante Guimarães

doi:10.1007/978-3-031-01241-9_18

Cited by 3 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 107 publications

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“…It is paramount for farmers to be able to count on a broader variety of species/genotypes and affordable clean plants. If the country wishes to maintain the long-term feasibility of sisal production or even correspond to Agave as biorenewables feedstock prospects (Raya et al, 2022), the Agave breeding program must be reestablished. In fact, the sisal production system in Brazil needs to be rethought, as the current one depends on decentralized and semiautomatic fiber extraction process, which makes it difficult to introduce and disseminate more robust productive varieties with greater tolerance to the disease.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the past, sisal was a very relevant source of hard fibers, which were gradually replaced by the synthetic fibers, such as polypropylene (Davis and Long, 2015). However, given the widespread comprehension of climate change and the need for biorenewables, Agave might experience a resurgence to its former status (Raya et al, 2022), reclaiming global significance not only as a source of hard fibers, but also through profoundly diversified utilization strategies of these resilient plants (Morán et al, 2008;de Paula et al, 2012;Santos et al, 2015;Pérez-Zavala et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Molecular epidemiology of sisal bole rot disease suggests a potential phytosanitary crisis in Brazilian production areas

Raya,

Quintanilha-Peixoto,

de Oliveira

et al. 2023

Front. Chem. Eng.

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Sisal bole rot disease is the major phytosanitary problem of Agave plantations in Brazil. The disease is caused by a cryptic species of Aspergillus: A. welwitschiae. To date, the only way to diagnose the disease was to observe external symptoms, visible only when the plant is already compromised, or through the isolation and sequencing of the pathogen, which requires cutting the entire plant for bole tissue sampling. We developed a new primer set based on a unique gene region of A. welwitschiae, which can detect the phytopathogenic strains through PCR directly from sisal leaves. Using the new marker to study the main sisal-producing areas in Brazil, we discovered a troublesome situation. The main producing areas of this crop had a pathogen incidence of 78%–88%. The dispersion index indicates a regular spatial pattern for disease distribution, suggesting that the use of contaminated suckers to establish new fields may be the main disease-spreading mechanism. Altogether, the high incidence of the pathogen, the unavailability of clean plants, the unpredictability of disease progression, and the low investment capacity of farmers reveal the vulnerability of this sector to a potential phytosanitary crisis. By correlating the disease symptomatology with soil nutritional traits, we suggest that higher potassium availability might decrease visual symptoms, while phosphorus may have the opposite effect. Also, we observe a potential cultivar effect, suggesting that common sisal may be more susceptible than hybrid cultivars (especially H400). This new molecular tool is a significant advance for understanding the disease, enabling the implementation of a monitoring program and studies that may lead to pathogen control strategies and changes in the Brazilian production model.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular epidemiology of sisal bole rot disease suggests a potential phytosanitary crisis in Brazilian production areas

Raya,

Quintanilha-Peixoto,

de Oliveira

et al. 2023

Front. Chem. Eng.

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“…In fact, the interest for maximizing the use of materials from agave species on diverse applications has increased in recent years, as for example in food products, beverages, silages, agriculture, medicine, bioenergy, textiles, environmental and cosmetics applications, with increased use of Agaves biomass from the pre-and post-production of fibers (Pérez-Zavala et al 2020;Raya et al 2022). Sisal and other agave species can be explored for biofuel production and are being considered strategic plant species for the present climate change and global warming context .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These plants have the acid crassulacean metabolism, and special leaf features, which make them tolerant to high temperature and water deficit conditions (Abraham et al 2016;YIN et al 2018). In addition, they can grow in soils and environmental conditions which are not suitable for other commercial crops (Raya et al 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

In vitro conservation of Agave sisalana germplasm under slow growth conditions

Tavares,

Nepomuceno,

Costa

et al. 2024

Preprint

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The increasing demand for natural hard fibers has stimulated sisal (Agave sisalana) fiber production and exportation. Plant germplasm conservation is essential to preserve their genetic diversity and it is a vital tool for plant selection, breeding, and in vitro propagation. This work aimed to evaluate the effect of the osmotic regulator’s mannitol and sorbitol, as well as the growth regulator paclobutrazol on A. sisalana in vitro morphological responses and to develop in vitro conservation protocols for this species. The in vitro conservation of A. sisalana was evaluated with two experiments: I – with sorbitol and mannitol, at concentrations of 0; 87; 174 and 261 mM, and with 87 mM sucrose, corresponding to the osmotic potentials of -0.217; -0.437; -0.655 and -0.873 MPa, and II – with paclobutrazol (PBZ) at concentrations of 0; 3; 6; 9; 12 and 15 μM. Mannitol at 261 mM (-0.873 MPa) promoted the slowest growth of sisal plants in vitro, with growth reduction of 288.6%, when compared to the control treatment. Furthermore, this treatment did not affect the percentage of plant regeneration and multiplication after 12 months of cultivation. Paclobutrazol at 15 µM promoted a reduction of 93.5% in plant height, when compared to the control, and did not restrict plant regeneration and multiplication percentage. Mannitol and paclobutrazol can be used with efficiency for in vitro conservation, maintaining explant viability and plant survival after acclimatization. In addition, these treatments did not cause phenotypic variations of genetic origin. This is the first study reporting strategies for in vitro germplasm conservation of A. sisalana.

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“…Also, Agave is an important crop in many parts of the world, particularly in arid and semiarid regions where other crops may not be suitable for cultivation. Agaves are used for various purposes, including the production of fibers, known as sisal, for rope, twine, and textiles, as well as to produce alcoholic beverages, such as tequila and mezcal (Raya et al, 2022). Apart from Mexico, Brazil and East Africa have been the most extensive regions for Agave plantations, especially for fiber production.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rescuing the Brazilian Agave breeding program: morphophysiological and molecular characterization of a new germplasm

Raya,

de Carvalho,

José

et al. 2023

Front. Chem. Eng.

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Agaves have been a valuable resource in dryland areas for centuries, providing fibers (sisal), food, and beverages. However, the advent of synthetic fibers has led to a decrease in research on Agave, resulting in the cessation of breeding programs in Brazil. With the rise of climate change, there is renewed interest in Agave for its potential as a biofuel feedstock in semiarid regions. Since 2016, we have been collecting Agave accessions throughout the country and retrieving what is left of Brazil’s original breeding program to establish a new germplasm bank. Here, we evaluated 21 of those accessions growing in the field. We used molecular markers and morphophysiological traits to characterize the plants. Based on the Mayahuelin molecular marker, we were able to reconstruct a phylogeny for the Brazilian accessions. The morphophysiological traits explained 34.6% of the phenotypic variation in the dataset, with physiological traits such as leaf water content, effective quantum efficiency of photosystem II (ΦPSII), and specific leaf mass (SLM) as the most significant traits. Specifically, we evaluated nine Agave species and found that the physiological traits, rather than the morphological ones, were the most significant. Leaf water content was negatively correlated with specific leaf mass, which could be used as a marker for selecting cultivars with higher biomass accumulation. Interestingly, ΦPSII and chlorophyll content were negatively correlated, suggesting photochemical adaptations throughout the rosette. Molecular and phenotypic data suggest that A. amaniensis, which is frequently considered a synonym of A. sisalana, is effectively another species. Overall, this study provides valuable information on the physiological traits of Brazilian Agave accessions and is a starting point for selecting more productive and climate-resilient cultivars for biorenewables production.

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New Feedstocks for Bioethanol Production: Energy Cane and Agave

Cited by 3 publications

References 107 publications

Molecular epidemiology of sisal bole rot disease suggests a potential phytosanitary crisis in Brazilian production areas

Molecular epidemiology of sisal bole rot disease suggests a potential phytosanitary crisis in Brazilian production areas

In vitro conservation of Agave sisalana germplasm under slow growth conditions

Rescuing the Brazilian Agave breeding program: morphophysiological and molecular characterization of a new germplasm

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