Overexpression of REDUCED WALL ACETYLATION C increases xylan acetylation and biomass recalcitrance in Populus.

Plant lignocellulosic biomass, i.e. secondary cell walls of plants, is a vital alternative source for bioenergy.

PdWND3A, a wood-associated NAC domain-containing protein, affects lignin biosynthesis and composition in Populus.

Background: Plant secondary cell wall is a renewable feedstock for biofuels and biomaterials production. Arabidopsis VASCULAR-RELATED NAC DOMAIN (VND) has been demonstrated to be a key transcription factor regulating secondary cell wall biosynthesis. However, less is known about its role in the woody species.

Overexpression of a Prefoldin β subunit gene reduces biomass recalcitrance in the bioenergy crop Populus.

Prefoldin (PFD) is a group II chaperonin that is ubiquitously present in the eukaryotic kingdom. Six subunits (PFD1-6) form a jellyfish-like heterohexameric PFD complex and function in protein folding and cytoskeleton organization. However, little is known about its function in plant cell wall-related processes.

A New Calmodulin-Binding Protein Expresses in the Context of Secondary Cell Wall Biosynthesis and Impacts Biomass Properties in .

A greater understanding of biosynthesis, signaling and regulatory pathways involved in determining stem growth and secondary cell wall chemistry is important for enabling pathway engineering and genetic optimization of biomass properties. The present study describes a new functional role of , a gene belonging to the IQ67-Domain1 family of genes, in impacting biomass formation and chemistry. Expression studies showed that has enhanced expression in developing xylem and tension-stressed tissues in .

Overexpression of a Domain of Unknown Function 231-containing protein increases O-xylan acetylation and cellulose biosynthesis in .

Background: Domain of Unknown Function 231-containing proteins (DUF231) are plant specific and their function is largely unknown. Studies in the model plants Arabidopsis and rice suggested that some DUF231 proteins act in the process of -acetyl substitution of hemicellulose and esterification of pectin. However, little is known about the function of DUF231 proteins in woody plant species.

Overexpression of a Domain of Unknown Function 266-containing protein results in high cellulose content, reduced recalcitrance, and enhanced plant growth in the bioenergy crop .

Background: Domain of Unknown Function 266 (DUF266) is a plant-specific domain. DUF266-containing proteins (DUF266 proteins) have been categorized as 'not classified glycosyltransferases (GTnc)' due to amino acid similarity with GTs. However, little is known about the function of DUF266 proteins.

Knockdown of a laccase in Populus deltoides confers altered cell wall chemistry and increased sugar release.

Plant laccases are thought to function in the oxidation of monolignols which leads to higher order lignin formation. Only a hand-full of laccases in plants have been functionally evaluated, and as such little is known about the breadth of their impact on cell wall chemistry or structure. Here, we describe a previously uncharacterized laccase from Populus, encoded by locus Potri.