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Results for “coniferaldehyde”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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5 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Hydroxycinnamaldehyde-derived benzofuran components in lignins

Abstract Lignin is an abundant polymer in plant secondary cell walls. Prototypical lignins derive from the polymerization of monolignols (hydroxycinnamyl alcohols), mainly coniferyl and sinapyl alcohol, via combinatorial radical coupling reactions and primarily via the endwise coupling of a monomer with the phenolic end of the growing polymer. Hydroxycinnamaldehyde units have long been recognized as minor components of lignins. In plants deficient in cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase, the last enzyme in the monolignol biosynthesis pathway that reduces hydroxycinnamaldehydes to monolignols, chain-incorporated aldehyde unit levels are elevated. The nature and relative levels of aldehyde components in lignins can be determined from their distinct and dispersed correlations in 2D 1H–13C-correlated nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra. We recently became aware of aldehyde NMR peaks, well resolved from others, that had been overlooked. NMR of isolated low-molecular-weight oligomers from biomimetic radical coupling reactions involving coniferaldehyde revealed that the correlation peaks belonged to hydroxycinnamaldehyde-derived benzofuran moieties. Coniferaldehyde 8-5-coupling initially produces the expected phenylcoumaran structures, but the derived phenolic radicals undergo preferential disproportionation rather than radical coupling to extend the growing polymer. As a result, the hydroxycinnamaldehyde-derived phenylcoumaran units are difficult to detect in lignins, but the benzofurans are now readily observed by their distinct and dispersed correlations in the aldehyde region of NMR spectra from any lignin or monolignol dehydrogenation polymer. Hydroxycinnamaldehydes that are coupled to coniferaldehyde can be distinguished from those coupled with a generic guaiacyl end-unit. These benzofuran peaks may now be annotated and reported and their structural ramifications further studied.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

H-lignin can be deposited independently of CINNAMYL ALCOHOL DEHYDROGENASE C and D in Arabidopsis

Abstract Lignin contributes substantially to the recalcitrance of biomass toward saccharification. To circumvent this problem, researchers have genetically altered lignin, although, in a number of cases, these efforts have resulted in an undesirable yield penalty. Recent findings have shown that by knocking out two subunits (MED5A and MED5B) of the transcriptional regulatory complex Mediator, the stunted growth phenotype of mutants in p-coumaroyl shikimate 3′-hydroxylase, reduced epidermal fluorescence 8-1 (ref8-1), can be alleviated. Furthermore, these plants synthesize a lignin polymer almost entirely derived from p-coumaryl alcohol. Plants deficient in cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD) are notable in that they primarily incorporate coniferaldehyde and sinapaldehyde into their lignin. We tested the hypothesis that by stacking mutations in the genes encoding for the CAD paralogs C and D on an Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) med5a/5b ref8-1 genetic background, the biosynthesis of p-coumaryl alcohol would be blocked, making p-coumaraldehyde available for polymerization into a novel kind of lignin. The med5a/5b ref8-1 cadc cadd plants are viable, but lignin analysis demonstrated that they continue to synthesize p-hydroxyphenyl lignin despite being mutated for the CADs typically considered to be required for monolignol biosynthesis. In addition, enzyme activity tests showed that even in the absence of CADC and CADD, there is high CAD activity in stems. We tested the potential involvement of other CADs in p-coumaraldehyde biosynthesis in the quintuple mutant by mutating them using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. Lignin analysis demonstrated that the resulting hextuple mutant plants continue to deposit p-coumaryl alcohol-derived lignin, demonstrating a route for the synthesis of p-hydroxyphenyl lignin in Arabidopsis independent of four CAD isoforms.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Elucidation of a bacterial pathway for catabolism of the β–β-linked dilignol pinoresinol

Monolignol-derived dimers containing β–β linkages are synthesized by vascular plants and can be released during lignin depolymerization. In this work, we isolated a bacterium, Novosphingobium rhizosphaerae LY, that grows with the β–β lignan (+)-pinoresinol as a sole growth substrate. Sequence analysis suggested that this strain encodes a broad range of pathways for assimilation of aromatic monomers as well as one enzyme implicated in pinoresinol catabolism but lacks other known pathways for aromatic dimer catabolism. We constructed a genome-wide barcoded transposon library and identified genes required for pinoresinol catabolism. Using feeding studies, compound isolation, targeted synthesis, and analysis of purified enzymes, we elucidated the biochemical intermediates and reaction pathway involved in pinoresinol catabolism. We demonstrated that the first enzymatic reaction is the reductive cleavage of a furan ring in (±)-pinoresinol with retention of configuration to yield lariciresinol. We additionally confirmed that the final pathway enzyme, PinU, is related to lignostilbene dioxygenases and oxidatively cleaves a diguaiacylbutadiene intermediate to yield vanillin and coniferaldehyde. Finally, based on the enzyme characterization, we demonstrated that the strain can grow with a second β–β lignan, (–)-syringaresinol, as a sole growth substrate. In combination, these results demonstrate a new biocatalytic route for transforming a widely occurring group of plant phenylpropanoid natural products.

Novosphingobium↗
DOE OSTI2023

Systematic approaches to C-lignin engineering in Medicago truncatula

Abstract Background C-lignin is a homopolymer of caffeyl alcohol present in the seed coats of a variety of plant species including vanilla orchid, various cacti, and the ornamental plant Cleome hassleriana . Because of its unique chemical and physical properties, there is considerable interest in engineering C-lignin into the cell walls of bioenergy crops as a high-value co-product of bioprocessing. We have used information from a transcriptomic analysis of developing C. hassleriana seed coats to suggest strategies for engineering C-lignin in a heterologous system, using hairy roots of the model legume Medicago truncatula . Results We systematically tested strategies for C-lignin engineering using a combination of gene overexpression and RNAi-mediated knockdown in the caffeic acid/5-hydroxy coniferaldehyde 3/5-O-methyltransferase ( comt ) mutant background, monitoring the outcomes by analysis of lignin composition and profiling of monolignol pathway metabolites. In all cases, C-lignin accumulation required strong down-regulation of caffeoyl CoA 3- O -methyltransferase (CCoAOMT) paired with loss of function of COMT. Overexpression of the Selaginella moellendorffii ferulate 5-hydroxylase ( SmF5H ) gene in comt mutant hairy roots resulted in lines that unexpectedly accumulated high levels of S-lignin. Conclusion C-Lignin accumulation of up to 15% of total lignin in lines with the greatest reduction in CCoAOMT expression required the strong down-regulation of both COMT and CCoAOMT, but did not require expression of a heterologous laccase, cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD) or cinnamoyl CoA reductase (CCR) with preference for 3,4-dihydroxy-substituted substrates in M. truncatula hairy roots. Cell wall fractionation studies suggested that the engineered C-units are not present in a heteropolymer with the bulk of the G-lignin.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Method of selectively oxidizing lignin

A method of selectively reacting lignin or a lignin-derived reactant to yield an aromatic product. The method includes the step of reacting lignin or a lignin-derived reactant with a molybdenum-containing catalyst, in a solvent, and optionally in the presence of an oxidant, for a time and a temperature wherein at least a portion of the lignin or lignin-derived reactant is selectively converted into an aromatic product, preferably coniferaldehyde and/or sinapaldehyde.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗