Abstract
High-biomass sorghums are intended for use in biorefineries that convert vegetative biomass into renewable fuels and chemicals. The majority of plant biomass consists of cell walls, a complex matrix of cellulose, hemicellulosic polysaccharides, and lignin. In the biorefinery, the biomass is ground and then subjected to a thermo-chemical pretreatment (elevated temperature, high pressure, chemical catalysts) that disrupts the cell wall matrix and solubilizes some of the cell wall polymers, followed by enzymatic saccharification of the cellulose, which produces d-glucose. The glucose and sometimes also the xylose derived from the hydrolysis of the hemicellulosic polysaccharides are subsequently converted to fuels or other useful chemicals by microbial biocatalysts. The genetic improvement of high-biomass sorghums has as its ultimate goals to maximize the yield of fermentable sugars on a per-hectare basis; to minimize the inputs of fertilizer, irrigation, fungicides, and pesticides; and to reduce the environmental footprint. Breeding strategies thus need to target biomass yield, biomass composition, maturity, pest and disease resistance, and nutrient use efficiency. This chapter reviews the genetic basis of these traits and their potential application in breeding programs.
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Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge funding from the US Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Bioenergy Technologies Office, and sponsored by the US DOE’s International Affairs under award no. DE-PI0000031 for research on high-biomass sorghums that can be produced sustainably and from the US Department of Energy (BER) grant nos. DE-SC0014439 and DE-SC0019097 for research on anthracnose resistance. Tallyta N. Silva is grateful for financial support from CAPES Foundation (Brazilian Ministry of Education) and the Science without Borders program (BEX-1883-13-8), as well as from the University of Florida Genetics Institute.
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Silva, T.N., Vermerris, W. (2020). High-Biomass Sorghums as a Feedstock for Renewable Fuels and Chemicals. In: Tonapi, V.A., Talwar, H.S., Are, A.K., Bhat, B.V., Reddy, C.R., Dalton, T.J. (eds) Sorghum in the 21st Century: Food – Fodder – Feed – Fuel for a Rapidly Changing World. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-8249-3_29
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