Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Claire E. Anderson, Jiwei Zhang, Lye Meng Markillie, Hugh D. Mitchell, William B. Chrisler, Matthew J. Gaffrey, Galya Orr, Jonathan S. Schilling
Summary: Earth's aboveground terrestrial biomass is primarily wood, and fungi dominate wood decomposition. This study focused on a common brown rot-type fungus, Rhodonia placenta, and revealed its pathway for extracting sugars from wood lignin. The researchers used high-resolution transcriptome sequencing to uncover that many genes previously assumed to be constitutively expressed were actually turned off before being upregulated during the decay process. Additionally, they found that the benzoquinone reductase gene was activated in the early stages of decay and quickly downregulated, indicating its key role in initiating brown rot.
APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
R. Norgren, A. Jonsson, O. Bjorkqvist
Summary: This study evaluates the use of fermentation to increase nutrient availability in pulp and paper bio-sludge (PPBS) as feed for black soldier fly larvae (BSFL). The results show that the bioconversion rate of fermented liquids is higher than that of sediments and untreated PPBS, but the survival rate of larvae is lower. The sediments have no significant effect on larvae weight or PPBS reduction rate. Further research should focus on improving the pretreatment of PPBS to increase nutrient availability and improve the feasibility of using BSFL as a recycling method for PPBS.
BIOMASS CONVERSION AND BIOREFINERY
(2023)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Ali H. Bahkali, Asad Syed, Abdallah M. Elgorban, Mohamed A. Abdel-Wahab, Neha Srivastava, Vijai Kumar Gupta
Summary: This study reports the preparation of a nanocatalyst using date seed and evaluates its impact on cellulolytic enzyme production. The nanocatalyst significantly improves the production of the enzyme, with 30 IU/gds filter paper activity achieved under optimized conditions. In addition, the nanocatalyst enhances glucose production through the hydrolysis of acidic-pretreated date seeds, and promotes biohydrogen production through cocultured dark fermentation.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Malik Owais Ullah Awan, Akhtar Iqbal, Muhammad Imtiaz Rashid, Usman Irshad, Farhan Hafeez, Farid Ullah, Muhammad Irshad, Gabrijel Ondrasek, Ivan Mustac, Rashid Nazir
Summary: The diversified Galiyat forests in the Lower Himalayas possess a potential source of lignocellulose degrading bacteria, with cellulose degraders, xylanase producers, and laccase producers identified among the isolates. These bacteria showed diversity in terms of their taxonomic classification and their ability to degrade different lignocellulosic components.
Review
Agricultural Engineering
Jitendra Kumar, Himanshu, Hemansi, Amanjot Kaur, Aayush Mathur
Summary: Global interest in lignocellulosic biorefineries has increased due to sustainable technological advancements. However, enzymatic hydrolysis in biorefinery operations faces challenges that limit cost-effectiveness.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Gen Zou, Dapeng Bao, Ying Wang, Sichi Zhou, Meili Xiao, Zhanshan Yang, Yinmei Wang, Zhihua Zhou
Summary: Introducing product-activated cellulase genes significantly increases enzyme activity and saccharification efficiency. Improving thermostability of cellulases was achieved through mutants and enhanced enzyme activity. Introducing product-activated cellulase genes is an effective approach to alleviate product inhibition of cellulases.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
J. Ashwini John, Ethiraj Selvarajan
Summary: This study discusses the conversion of lignocellulosic waste to biofuel using cellulose in rice husks by lichen-associated Streptomyces sp. MS2A. The genome analysis of Streptomyces sp. MS2A confirmed the presence of cellulose-degrading genes and revealed the similarity with Streptomyces sp. CCM_MD2014. The analysis also identified a variety of GH families involved in lignocellulose degradation.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
(2023)
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Yufeng Yuan, Bo Jiang, Hui Chen, Wenjuan Wu, Shufang Wu, Yongcan Jin, Huining Xiao
Summary: Enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulose for bioethanol production has great potential, but the presence of lignin inhibits the process. Pretreatment methods can remove lignin and improve enzymatic digestibility. Researchers are focusing on exploring the relationship between lignin structure and lignin-enzyme interactions to enhance saccharification efficiency.
BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS
(2021)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Hai-Yan Zhou, Jian-Bao Zhou, Xiao-Nan Yi, Yan-Mei Wang, Ya-Ping Xue, De-Shui Chen, Xin-Ping Cheng, Mian Li, Hong-Yan Wang, Kai-Qian Chen, Zhi-Qiang Liu, Yu-Guo Zheng
Summary: The newly developed endoglucanase CoCel5A shows strong adaptability to temperature and pH, with optimal activity at 55-75 degrees Celsius and in citric acid buffer with pH 4.0-5.0. CoCel5A exhibits high affinity and catalytic efficiency towards carboxymethyl cellulose sodium salt and beta-d-glucan, suggesting its potential applications in biotechnological and environmental fields.
BIOPROCESS AND BIOSYSTEMS ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Ying Sui, Yu Cui, Yuanxiu Wang, Yiming Zhao, Guoxin Sun
Summary: A new method of ionic liquid combined ball milling pretreatment was established for wheat straw, which directly extracted cellulose nanofibers and improved the solubility and glucose recovery of wheat straw by destroying the fiber structure.
BIOENERGY RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Cuiyi Liang, Qiong Wang, Wen Wang, Carol Sze Ki Lin, Yunzi Hu, Wei Qi
Summary: This study reports an efficient cellulase cocktail produced by co-cultivation of several Penicillium strains with lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) producing strains. When blending the consortium-derived enzyme cocktail with commercial cellulase preparation, the highest hydrolysis yield reached 88.7%, indicating its potential for enhancing lignocellulose biodegradation.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Paper & Wood
Soojin Kwon, Marielis C. Zambrano, Joel J. Pawlak, Richard A. Venditti
Summary: This study extensively examined the aquatic biodegradation of wood pulp and lignocellulosic components, revealing that cellulose and hemicellulose are readily biodegradable while lignin is not. The presence of lignin in fibers also reduced the biodegradability of other components. Additionally, ash and extractives were found to have a negative impact on biodegradability.
Article
Microbiology
Farhan Ahmad, Guiying Yang, Yaning Zhu, Michael Poulsen, Wuhan Li, Ting Yu, Jianchu Mo
Summary: This study investigated the digestion of lignocellulose in the symbiotic system of fungus-growing termites. The results showed that young workers initiate the degradation of lignocellulose, while the majority of lignin, hemicellulose, and cellulose enter the fresh fungus comb for decomposition. The decomposition of lignocellulose enriches the old comb with sugars that can be utilized by Termitomyces and termite workers. Additionally, clear differences in bacterial community composition were observed at different stages of plant biomass decomposition, which may interact synergistically with Termitomyces to shape the digestion process.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2022)
Review
Food Science & Technology
Sunrixon Carmando Yuansah, Amran Laga, Pirman
Summary: Lignocellulosic biomass (LB) is a potential source for bioenergy, bioproducts, and dietary components. The production of cello-oligosaccharides (COS) and xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS) from LB has various applications and potential health benefits. However, challenges remain in terms of slow reactions and low yields. This review discusses pretreatment techniques, multi-step processes, and the use of thermostable enzymes to improve COS and XOS production, as well as by-product recovery and enzyme separation methods.
FOOD AND BIOPROCESS TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Qizhen Yang, Wei Tang, Lei Li, Menghan Huang, Cuiluan Ma, Yu-Cai He
Summary: Hydrothermal pretreatment is an effective method to improve the saccharification of lignocellulose. In this study, an efficient hydrothermal pretreatment of sunflower straw was conducted, resulting in the removal of 58.8% xylan and 33.5% lignin at a treatment temperature of 180 degrees C for 120 min and a solid-to-liquid ratio of 1:15. Various characterizations confirmed that hydrothermal pretreatment altered the surface structure and increased the accessibility to cellulase. The enzymatic saccharification of the treated sunflower straw achieved a high yield of reducing sugar and glucose and also produced xylo-oligosaccharide in the filtrate.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Eva C. Henningsen, Vahid Omidvar, Rafael Della Coletta, Jean-Michel Michno, Erin Gilbert, Feng Li, Marisa E. Miller, Chad L. Myers, Sean P. Gordon, John P. Vogel, Brian J. Steffenson, Shahryar F. Kianian, Cory D. Hirsch, Melania Figueroa
Summary: Studies on gene expression changes in wheat infected by Pgt have identified processes related to susceptibility. By analyzing gene expression in wheat and Brachypodium, potential strategies to enhance resistance to Pgt have been proposed.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Haiping Wu, Peiyuan Gao, Hao Jia, Lianfeng Zou, Linchao Zhang, Xia Cao, Mark H. Engelhard, Mark E. Bowden, Michael S. Ding, Jiangtao Hu, Dehong Hu, Sarah D. Burton, Kang Xu, Chongmin Wang, Ji-Guang Zhang, Wu Xu
Summary: The newly developed polymer-in-salt electrolyte (PISE) provides a method to improve the oxidative stability of lithium metal polymer batteries (LMPBs) while maintaining high charge capacity. The solid-state PISEs prepared with a special process exhibit excellent performance, offering a promising pathway towards high-voltage stable LMPBs.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2021)
Article
Agronomy
Nicholas B. Waldo, Ludmila Chistoserdova, Dehong Hu, Heidi L. Gough, Rebecca B. Neumann
Summary: The research compared microbial communities in planted and unplanted wetland soil in Alaskan bog, finding that plant roots influence populations and metabolisms of methanogens and methanotrophs. Roots create an environment favoring specialized microbial metabolisms, with both aerobic and anaerobic metabolisms present as a result of the oxygen input.
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Connor Riahin, Adam Meares, Nopondo N. Esemoto, Marcin Ptaszek, Michael LaScola, Narendra Pandala, Erin Lavik, Mengran Yang, Gary Stacey, Dehong Hu, Jeremiah C. Traeger, Galya Orr, Zeev Rosenzweig
Summary: This paper presents a method for synthesizing near-infrared emitting polymer dots (Pdots) with tunable emission peak wavelength by doping chlorins and bacteriochlorins. The doped Pdots show nearly spherical morphology with narrow emission bands. The paper demonstrates the utility of this synthesis approach and showcases the potential applications of Pdots in various fields.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Fangjia Li, Hugh D. Mitchell, Arielle C. Mensch, Dehong Hu, Elizabeth D. Laudadio, Jenny K. Hedlund Orbeck, Robert J. Hamers, Galya Orr
Summary: This study utilized single-cell analysis to investigate individual cell responses to lithium cobalt oxide nanoparticles, revealing significant variability in gene expression levels between neighboring cells under the same exposure conditions, as well as a prioritization of gene expression for restoring energy balance in individual cells.
Review
Plant Sciences
Megan A. Outram, Melania Figueroa, Jana Sperschneider, Simon J. Williams, Peter N. Dodds
Summary: This article reviews recent advances in understanding host-pathogen co-evolution through the structural determination of effectors and their complexes with immunity receptors. The study highlights the use of recent advances in structural prediction and its role in the future development of designer resistance proteins.
CURRENT OPINION IN PLANT BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Eva C. Henningsen, Tim Hewitt, Sheshanka Dugyala, Eric S. Nazareno, Erin Gilbert, Feng Li, Shahryar F. Kianian, Brian J. Steffenson, Peter N. Dodds, Jana Sperschneider, Melania Figueroa
Summary: Advances in sequencing technologies have allowed the generation of fully phased genome references for organisms with nonhaploid genomes. This study successfully generated a chromosome-scale assembly for the oat crown rust pathogen, which provides valuable resources for studying pathogen effectors and virulence evolution.
G3-GENES GENOMES GENETICS
(2022)
Review
Plant Sciences
Babar Hussain, Bala A. Akpinar, Michael Alaux, Ahmed M. Algharib, Deepmala Sehgal, Zulfiqar Ali, Gudbjorg I. Aradottir, Jacqueline Batley, Arnaud Bellec, Alison R. Bentley, Halise B. Cagirici, Luigi Cattivelli, Fred Choulet, James Cockram, Francesca Desiderio, Pierre Devaux, Munevver Dogramaci, Gabriel Dorado, Susanne Dreisigacker, David Edwards, Khaoula El-Hassouni, Kellye Eversole, Tzion Fahima, Melania Figueroa, Sergio Galvez, Kulvinder S. Gill, Liubov Govta, Alvina Gul, Goetz Hensel, Pilar Hernandez, Leonardo Abdiel Crespo-Herrera, Amir Ibrahim, Benjamin Kilian, Viktor Korzun, Tamar Krugman, Yinghui Li, Shuyu Liu, Amer F. Mahmoud, Alexey Morgounov, Tugdem Muslu, Faiza Naseer, Frank Ordon, Etienne Paux, Dragan Perovic, Gadi V. P. Reddy, Jochen Christoph Reif, Matthew Reynolds, Rajib Roychowdhury, Jackie Rudd, Taner Z. Sen, Sivakumar Sukumaran, Bahar Sogutmaz Ozdemir, Vijay Kumar Tiwari, Naimat Ullah, Turgay Unver, Selami Yazar, Rudi Appels, Hikmet Budak
Summary: Recent technological advances in next-generation sequencing have made DNA sequencing more accessible for species with large and complex genomes, including bread wheat. Despite its importance as a food crop, breeding in bread wheat has been limited by its large polyploid genome. However, after years of effort, draft and reference genome sequences of bread wheat have been released, providing valuable resources for breeding. These advances have also facilitated the use of genotyping arrays in wheat breeding, allowing for fast and reliable characterization of wheat lines. Additionally, gene-editing and genomic selection methods have shown promise in improving important traits in wheat breeding.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Connor Riahin, Kushani Mendis, Brandon Busick, Marcin Ptaszek, Mengran Yang, Gary Stacey, Amar Parvate, James E. Evans, Jeremiah Traeger, Dehong Hu, Galya Orr, Zeev Rosenzweig
Summary: Semiconducting polymer dots (Pdots) are widely studied nanoparticles in fluorescence bioimaging and sensing due to their small size, high brightness, and resistance to photobleaching. This paper highlights recent advances in using organic dyes as dopants to modify the optical properties of Pdots for deep red and near infrared fluorescence bioimaging, as well as for imparting sensitivity towards selected analytes. Additionally, the formation of secondary antibody-conjugated Pdots and their selective targeting to specific membrane receptors in plant leaf cells, as well as the development of a new class of luminescent Pdots with emission wavelengths around 1000 nm, are reported.
Article
Agronomy
Eric S. Nazareno, Jason Fiedler, Marisa E. Miller, Melania Figueroa, Shahryar F. Kianian
Summary: In this study, three adult plant resistance loci on oat chromosomes 4D and 6C were mapped and markers were developed for marker-assisted selection and gene pyramiding. The survey of gene content in these regions identified clusters of disease resistance genes that may contribute to adult plant resistance. This research is important for oat breeding and the cloning of resistance genes.
THEORETICAL AND APPLIED GENETICS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Junmin Liang, Yuanjie Li, Peter N. Dodds, Melania Figueroa, Jana Sperschneider, Shiling Han, Clement K. M. Tsui, Keyu Zhang, Leifu Li, Zhanhong Ma, Lei Cai
Summary: This study presents a pipeline using HiFi reads and Hi-C data to assemble the genome of the fungal pathogen Puccinia polysora f.sp. zeae, achieving haplotype-phased and chromosome-level assembly. The high-quality assembly provides valuable genomic resources for future studies on disease management and the evolution of P. polysora.
MOLECULAR ECOLOGY RESOURCES
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jeremiah Traeger, Dehong Hu, Mengran Yang, Gary Stacey, Galya Orr
Summary: Plant cell signaling relies on the cellular organization of receptor-like kinases (RLKs) within membrane nanodomains for efficient and specific signaling. Quantitative analysis of spatial organizations of RLKs can provide new understanding of plant responses to environmental stress.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Wenjuan Huang, Wenjuan Yu, Bo Yi, Erik Raman, Jihoon Yang, Kenneth E. Hammel, Vitaliy I. Timokhin, Chaoqun Lu, Adina Howe, Samantha R. Weintraub-Leff, Steven J. Hall
Summary: The contribution of lignin to soil organic carbon (SOC) is controversial. The authors find that lignin and SOC decomposition are decoupled and have contrasting relationships with geochemical and microbial factors, addressing a long-standing controversy. Lignin, an abundant and complex plant polymer, may limit litter decomposition, but it is sometimes a minor component of SOC. Accounting for soil diversity may reconcile this apparent contradiction.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Piliang Xiang, Andrey Liyu, Yumi Kwon, Dehong Hu, Sarah M. Williams, Dusan Velickovic, Lye Meng Markillie, William B. Chrisler, Ljiljana Pasa-Tolic, Ying Zhu
Summary: This study developed a high-throughput and high-resolution spatial proteomics platform by coupling laser ablation with nanoPOTS-based sample preparation. The platform enables deep mapping and collection of tissue samples, and can detect thousands of proteins with subcellular resolution.
ACS MEASUREMENT SCIENCE AU
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Hongyu Duan, Ashley W. Jones, Tim Hewitt, Amy Mackenzie, Yiheng Hu, Anna Sharp, David Lewis, Rohit Mago, Narayana M. Upadhyaya, John P. Rathjen, Eric A. Stone, Benjamin Schwessinger, Melania Figueroa, Peter N. Dodds, Sambasivam Periyannan, Jana Sperschneider
Summary: This study presents the first chromosome-scale, fully-phased assembly for the dikaryotic leaf rust fungus Puccinia triticina and compares the performance of Nanopore MinION and PacBio HiFi sequencing technologies. The study shows that false-positive Hi-C contacts between haplotypes are mainly caused by phase switches.