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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Kearneysville, West Virginia » Appalachian Fruit Research Laboratory » Innovative Fruit Production, Improvement, and Protection » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #408218
Research Project: Superior Fruit Tree Cultivars for Orchard Resilience, Sustainability, and Consumer Appeal

Location: Innovative Fruit Production, Improvement, and Protection

Title: Engineering custom morpho- and chemotypes of Populus for sustainable production of biofuels, bioproducts, and biomaterials

Author
item BUELL, ROBIN - University Of Georgia
item Dardick, Christopher - Chris
item PARROTT, WAYNE - University Of Georgia
item SCHMITZ, ROBERT - University Of Georgia
item SHIH, PATRICK - University Of California Berkeley
item TSAI, CHUNG JUI - University Of Georgia
item URBANOWICZ, BREEANNA - University Of Georgia

Submitted to: Frontiers in Plant Science
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/16/2023
Publication Date: 10/30/2023
Citation: Buell, R., Dardick, C.D., Parrott, W., Schmitz, R., Shih, P., Tsai, C., Urbanowicz, B. 2023. Engineering custom morpho- and chemotypes of Populus for sustainable production of biofuels, bioproducts, and biomaterials. Frontiers in Plant Science. 14:1288826. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1288826.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1288826

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Humans have been modifying plant traits for thousands of years, first through selection (i.e., domestication) then modern breeding, and in the last years, through biotechnology. These modifications have resulted in increased yield, more efficient agronomic practices, and enhanced quality traits. Precision knowledge of gene regulation and function through high-resolution single-cell omics technologies, coupled with the ability to engineer plant genomes at the DNA sequence, chromatin accessibility, and gene expression levels, can enable engineering of complex and complementary traits at the biosystem level. Populus spp., the primary genetic model system for woody perennials, are among the fastest growing trees in temperate zones and are important for both carbon sequestration and global carbon cycling. Ample genomic and transcriptomic resources for poplar are available including emerging single-cell omics datasets. To expand use of poplar outside of valorization of woody biomass, chassis with novel morphotypes in which stem branching and tree height are modified can be fabricated thereby leading to trees with altered leaf to wood ratios. These morphotypes can then be engineered into customized chemotypes that produce high value biofuels, bioproducts, and biomaterials not only in specific organs but also in a cell-type-specific manner. For example, the recent discovery of triterpene production in poplar leaf trichomes can be exploited using cell-type specific regulatory sequences to synthesize high value terpenes such as the jet fuel precursor bisabolene specifically in the trichomes. By spatially and temporally controlling expression, not only can pools of abundant precursors be exploited but engineered molecules can be sequestered in discrete cell structures in the leaf. The structural diversity of the hemicellulose xylan is a barrier to fully utilizing lignocellulose in biomaterial production and by leveraging cell-type-specific omics data, cell wall composition can be modified in a tailored and targeted specific manner to generate poplar wood with novel chemical features that are amenable for processing or advanced manufacturing. Precision engineering poplar as a multi-purpose sustainable feedstock highlights how genome engineering can be used to re-imagine a crop species.