Carbohydrate and amino acid profiles of cotton plant biomass products

Authors: He, Zhongqi; Olk, Daniel - Dan; Tewolde, Haile; ZHANG, HAILIN - Oklahoma State University; SHANKLE, MARK - Mississippi State University

Submitted to: Agriculture
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/15/2019
Publication Date: 12/18/2019
Citation: He, Z., Olk, D.C., Tewolde, H., Zhang, H., Shankle, M. 2019. Carbohydrate and amino acid profiles of cotton plant biomass products. Agriculture. 10(1):2. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture10010002.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture10010002

Interpretive Summary: Cotton is one of the America’s greatest value-added crops. Much of the cotton land area in the US is located in the southern and southeastern regions. While cotton biomass has the potential to be a valuable resource, the chemical composition, in particular the distribution of some critical compounds differs in seed, boll, bur, leaves, stalk, stem, and root of the cotton plant differs in seed, boll, bur, leaves, stalk, stem, and root of the cotton plant. To establish a full composition archive of cotton plant biomass, through the present study, we analyzed the amino acid and carbohydrate profiles in cotton roots, main stems, branches, petioles, leaf blades, and reproductive parts (burs, peduncles, and seeds). Therefore, the objectives of this work were (1) to document the compositional characteristics of the individual biomass components and (2) to improve the mechanistic understanding of their accumulation during plant growth and development. The relevant data would be helpful to the cotton industry in making decisions to maximize the profitability through better use of cotton biomass resources.

Technical Abstract: To achieve the optimal and diverse utilization of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) plant residues in various agricultural, industrial, and environmental applications, the chemical composition of cotton biomass tissues across different plant parts (e. g., seed, boll, bur, leaves, stalk, stem, and root) is of essential information. Thus, in this work, we collected field-grown whole mature cotton plants and separated them into distinct biomass fractions including main stems, leaf blades, branches, petioles, roots, and reproductive part (mid-season growth stage) or bur, peduncles+bracts, and seed cotton (pre-defoliation stage). The contents of selected carbohydrates and amino acids in these cotton biomass materials were determined. Both essential and nonessential amino acids were enriched in cotton leaf blades and reproductive parts. The distribution pattern of the selected carbohydrates differed from that of amino acids: higher contents of carbohydrate were found in roots, main stems and branches. While glucose was the most abundant non-structural carbohydrate in cotton plant parts at mid-season, xylose was the most abundant in most plant parts at the pre-defoliation stage. Nutritional carbohydrates and amino acids were further accumulated in seeds at pre-defoliation. The information reported in this work would be helpful in exploring and optimizing management practices and processing strategies for utilizing cotton crop biomass materials as valuable and renewable natural resources.