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A High-Throughput Biological Conversion Assay for Determining Lignocellulosic Quality

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High-Throughput Phenotyping in Plants

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 918))

Abstract

Lignocellulosic biomass is a source of low cost polysaccharides that some microbes can deconstruct and convert into liquid transportation fuel. Feedstocks vary in their ease of use depending on their source and handing. Estimating conversion amenability is useful to determine the effects of biomass pretreatment and genetic potential for the purposes of energy crop breeding and genetics. Here we describe a small-scale high-throughput assay that measures ethanol production from a culture of plant biomass and the ethanologen Clostridium phytofermentans.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Office of Science (BER) Department of Energy Grant DE-FG02-08ER64700DE to SPH. We thank Michael Keedy and Eric Bertrand (Biology Department, University of Massachusetts Amherst) for design and construction of the 96-well plate autoclave clamp.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Plant Biology Graduate Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA

    Scott J. Lee

  2. Department of Microbiology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA

    Thomas A. Warnick & Susan B. Leschine

  3. Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA

    Samuel P. Hazen

Authors
  1. Scott J. Lee
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  2. Thomas A. Warnick
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  3. Susan B. Leschine
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  4. Samuel P. Hazen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Samuel P. Hazen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Dept. of Biochemistry & Molecular Biolog, University of Massachusetts, N. Pleasant Street 710, Amherst, 01003, USA

    Jennifer Normanly

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© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

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Lee, S.J., Warnick, T.A., Leschine, S.B., Hazen, S.P. (2012). A High-Throughput Biological Conversion Assay for Determining Lignocellulosic Quality. In: Normanly, J. (eds) High-Throughput Phenotyping in Plants. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 918. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-995-2_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-995-2_18

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-61779-994-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-61779-995-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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