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The Complement of Soluble Sugars in the Saccharum Complex

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Abstract

The use of sugarcane as a biofactory and source of renewable biomass is being investigated increasingly due to its vigorous growth and ability to fix a large amount of carbon dioxide compared to other crops. The high biomass resulting from sugarcane production (up to 80 t/ha) makes it a candidate for genetic manipulation to increase the production of other sugars found in this research that are of commercial interest. Sucrose is the major sugar measured in sugarcane with hexoses glucose and fructose present in lower concentrations; sucrose can make up to 60% of the total dry weight of the culm. Species related to modern sugarcane cultivars were examined for the presence of sugars other than glucose, fructose and sucrose with the potential of this crop as a biofactory in mind. The species examined form part of the Saccharum complex, a closely-related interbreeding group. Extracts of the immature and mature internodes of six different species and a hybrid were analysed with gas chromatography mass spectrometry to identify mono-, di- and tri-saccharides, as well as sugar acids and sugar alcohols. Thirty two sugars were detected, 16 of which have previously not been identified in sugarcane. Apart from glucose, fructose and sucrose the abundance of sugars in all plants was low but the research demonstrated the presence of sugar pathways that could be manipulated. Since species from the Saccharum complex can be interbred, any genes leading to the production of sugars of interest could be introgressed into commercial Saccharum species or manipulated through genetic engineering.

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Abbreviations

DM:

dry mass

FM:

fresh mass

GC:

gas chromatography

MS:

mass spectrometry

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Acknowledgments

Louise Ryan was supported by a vacation student scholarship from the Cooperative Research Centre for Sugar Industry Innovation through Biotechnology. The authors would also like to thank both CSIRO internal reviewers and the anonymous journal reviewers for their suggested improvements to the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CSIRO Plant Industry, Queensland Bioscience Precinct, 306 Carmody Road, St. Lucia, Qld. 4067, Australia

    Donna Glassop, Louise P. Ryan, Graham D. Bonnett & Anne L. Rae

  2. Co-operative Research Centre for Sugar Industry Innovation through Biotechnology, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Qld. 4067, Australia

    Donna Glassop, Louise P. Ryan, Graham D. Bonnett & Anne L. Rae

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  1. Donna Glassop
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  2. Louise P. Ryan
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  3. Graham D. Bonnett
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  4. Anne L. Rae
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Correspondence to Donna Glassop.

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Communicated by: Ray Ming

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Glassop, D., Ryan, L.P., Bonnett, G.D. et al. The Complement of Soluble Sugars in the Saccharum Complex. Tropical Plant Biol. 3, 110–122 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12042-010-9049-y

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