Genetic Engineering of Lignin Biosynthesis in Poplar

  • W. Boerjan
  • H. Meyermans
  • C. Chen
  • J.-C. Leplé
  • J. H. Christensen
  • J. Van Doorsselaere
  • M. Baucher
  • M. Petit-Conil
  • B. Chabbert
  • M.-T. Tollier
  • B. Monties
  • G. Pilate
  • D. Cornu
  • D. Inzé
  • L. Jouanin
  • M. Van Montagu
Part of the Forestry Sciences book series (FOSC, volume 49)

Abstract

The removal of lignin in paper manufacture is a toxic and energy-requiring process. For the paper industry and for the environment, it would be very beneficial to process trees with less lignin or with lignin that is more easily ex tractable. To achieve this goal, we are down-regulating the activity of a number of lignin biosynthesis enzymes in poplar by genetic engineering and studying their role in determining the quantity and quality of lignin. Here, our recent results obtained in this field are summarized with emphasis on bispecific caffeic acid/5-OH-ferulic acid-O-methyltransferase, cinnamoyl-CoA-reductase, caffeoyl-CoA-O-methyltransferase, and peroxidase.

Keywords

Caffeic Acid Lignin Biosynthesis Sinapic Acid Cinnamyl Alcohol Dehydrogenase Kappa Number 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 1996

Authors and Affiliations

  • W. Boerjan
    • 1
  • H. Meyermans
    • 1
  • C. Chen
    • 1
  • J.-C. Leplé
    • 1
    • 2
  • J. H. Christensen
    • 1
  • J. Van Doorsselaere
    • 1
  • M. Baucher
    • 1
  • M. Petit-Conil
    • 3
  • B. Chabbert
    • 4
  • M.-T. Tollier
    • 4
  • B. Monties
    • 4
  • G. Pilate
    • 2
  • D. Cornu
    • 2
  • D. Inzé
    • 5
  • L. Jouanin
    • 6
  • M. Van Montagu
    • 1
  1. 1.Laboratorium voor Genetica, affiliated to the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for BiotechnologyUniversiteit GentGentBelgium
  2. 2.Station d’Amélioration des Arbres ForestiersINRAArdonFrance
  3. 3.Centre Technique du PapierFrance
  4. 4.Laboratoire de Chimie BiologiqueINRAThiverval-GrignonFrance
  5. 5.Laboratoire Associé de l’Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)Universiteit GentGentBelgium
  6. 6.Laboratoire de Biologie CellulaireINRAVersailles CedexFrance

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