@article{bibcite_36423,
  author = {Yang Tian and Yuan Gao and Halbay Turumtay and Emine Akyuz Turumtay and Yen Ning Chai and Hemant Choudhary and Joon-Hyun Park and Chuan-Yin Wu and Christopher M De Ben and Jutta Dalton and Katherine B Louie and Thomas Harwood and Dylan Chin and Khanh M Vuu and Benjamin P Bowen and Patrick M Shih and Edward E.K Baidoo and Trent R Northen and Blake A Simmons and Robert Hutmacher and Jackie Atim and Daniel Putnam and Corinne D Scown and Jenny C Mortimer and Henrik V Scheller and Aymerick Eudes},
  title = {Engineered reduction of S-adenosylmethionine alters lignin in sorghum},
  abstract = {<title>Abstract</title><sec>
                <title>Background</title>
                <p>Lignin is an aromatic polymer deposited in secondary cell walls of higher plants to provide strength, rigidity, and hydrophobicity to vascular tissues. Due to its interconnections with cell wall polysaccharides, lignin plays important roles during plant growth and defense, but also has a negative impact on industrial processes aimed at obtaining monosaccharides from plant biomass. Engineering lignin offers a solution to this issue. For example, previous work showed that heterologous expression of a coliphage <italic>S</italic>-adenosylmethionine hydrolase (AdoMetase) was an effective approach to reduce lignin in the model plant Arabidopsis. The efficacy of this engineering strategy remains to be evaluated in bioenergy crops.</p>
              </sec><sec>
                <title>Results</title>
                <p>We studied the impact of expressing AdoMetase on lignin synthesis in sorghum (<italic>Sorghum bicolor</italic> L. Moench). Lignin content, monomer composition, and size, as well as biomass saccharification efficiency were determined in transgenic sorghum lines. The transcriptome and metabolome were analyzed in stems at three developmental stages. Plant growth and biomass composition was further evaluated under field conditions. Results evidenced that lignin was reduced by 18\% in the best transgenic line, presumably due to reduced activity of the <italic>S</italic>-adenosylmethionine-dependent <italic>O</italic>-methyltransferases involved in lignin synthesis. The modified sorghum features altered lignin monomer composition and increased lignin molecular weights. The degree of methylation of glucuronic acid on xylan was reduced. These changes enabled a ~20\% increase in glucose yield after biomass pretreatment and saccharification compared to wild type. RNA-seq and untargeted metabolomic analyses evidenced some pleiotropic effects associated with <italic>AdoMetase</italic> expression. The transgenic sorghum showed developmental delay and reduced biomass yields at harvest, especially under field growing conditions.</p>
              </sec><sec>
                <title>Conclusions</title>
                <p>The expression of <italic>AdoMetase</italic> represents an effective lignin engineering approach in sorghum. However, considering that this strategy potentially impacts multiple <italic>S</italic>-adenosylmethionine-dependent methyltransferases, adequate promoters for fine-tuning <italic>AdoMetase</italic> expression will be needed to mitigate yield penalty.</p>
              </sec>},
  year = {2024},
  booktitle = {Biotechnology for Biofuels and Bioproducts},
  journal = {Biotechnology for Biofuels and Bioproducts},
  series = {Biotechnology for Biofuels and Bioproducts},
  volume = {17},
  month = {15/10/2024},
  institution = {Springer Science and Business Media LLC},
  publisher = {Springer Science and Business Media LLC},
  issn = {2731-3654},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s13068-024-02572-8},
  doi = {10.1186/s13068-024-02572-8},
}