Plant Life History and Residue Chemistry Influences Emissions of CO2 and N2O From Soil Perspectives for Genetically Modified Cell Wall Mutants

Vascular plants have lignified tissues that transport water, minerals, and photosynthetic products throughout the plant. They are the dominant primary producers in terrestrial ecosystems and capture significant quantities of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) through photosynthesis. Some of the fixed CO2 is respired by the plant directly, with additional CO2 lost from rhizodeposits metabolized by root-associated soil microorganisms. Microbially-mediated mineralization of organic nitrogen (N) from plant byproducts (rhizodeposits, dead plant residues) followed by nitrification generates another greenhouse gas, nitrous oxide (N2O). In anaerobic soils, reduction of nitrate by microbial denitrifiers also produces N2O. The plant-microbial interactions that result in CO2 and N2O emissions from soil could be affected by genetic modification. Down-regulation of genes controlling lignin biosynthesis to achieve lower lignin concentration or a lower guaiacyl:syringyl (G:S) ratio in above-ground biomass is anticipated to produce forage crops with greater digestibility, improve short rotation woody crops for the wood-pulping industry and create second generation biofuel crops with low ligno-cellulosic content, but unharvested residues from such crops are expected to decompose quickly, potentially increasing CO2 and N2O emissions from soil. The objective of this review are the following: 1) to describe how plants influence CO2 and N2O emissions from soil during their life cycle; 2) to explain how plant residue chemistry affects its mineralization, contributing to CO2 and N2O emissions from soil; and 3) to show how modification of plant lignin biosynthesis could influence CO2 and N2O emissions from soil, based on experimental data from genetically modified cell wall mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana. Conceptual models of plants with modified lignin biosynthesis show how changes in phenology, morphology and biomass production alter the allocation of photosynthetic products and carbon (C) losses through rhizodeposition and respiration during their life cycle, and the chemical composition of plant residues. Feedbacks on the soil environment (mineral N concentration, soil moisture, microbial communities, aggregation) affecting CO2 and N2O emissions are described. Down-regulation of the Cinnamoyl CoA Reductase 1 (CCR1) gene is an excellent target for highly digestable forages and biofuel crops, but A. thaliana with this mutation has lower plant biomass and fertility, prolonged vegetative growth and plant residues that are more susceptible to biodegradation, leading to greater CO2 and N2O emissions from soil in the short term. The challenge in future crop breeding efforts will be to select tissue-specific genes for lignin biosynthesis that meet commercial demands without compromising soil CO2 and N2O emission goals.