Evaluation of a transgenic poplar as a potential biomass crop for biofuel production

Young Hoon Jung, Hong Joo Cho, Jae Soon Lee, Eun Woon Noh, Ohkmae K. Park, Kyoung Heon Kim

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A transgenic poplar, in which the RabG3bCA gene from Arabidopsis was overexpressed, was analyzed for its biomass composition and enzymatic digestibility after chemical pretreatment. In comparison with a wild-type poplar (WT), the transgenic poplar (OX8) showed 9.8% higher glucan content. The levels of other biomass components did not differ greatly between WT and OX8. When WT and OX8 samples were pretreated by sulfuric acid (1%, w/v at 190 °C), sodium hydroxide (1%, w/v at 190 °C), or ammonia (14%, w/w at 80 °C), the washed pretreated solids of OX8 exhibited a higher enzymatic digestibility than those of WT in each chemical pretreatment. The sodium hydroxide pretreatment was the most effective among the three pretreatment processes, showing 58.7% and 69.4% of theoretical glucose yield from the saccharification of pretreated OX8 and WT, respectively. The transgenic poplar, growing faster and taller, was found to contain more glucan and have a higher enzymatic digestibility than WT.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)639-641
Number of pages3
JournalBioresource technology
Volume129
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2013 Feb

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by grants from the Advanced Biomass R&D Center of Korea ( 2011-0031353 ) and the Pioneer Research Center Program (2011-0002327) funded by the Korean Government (MEST) . Grant support was also received from the Next-Generation BioGreen 21 Program ( PJ0080522011 and PJ008103032011 ) through the Rural Development Administration. Facility support at Korea University Food Safety Hall for the Institute of Biomedical Science and Food Safety is also acknowledged.

Keywords

  • Biofuel
  • Biomass
  • Enzymatic digestibility
  • Pretreatment
  • Transgenic poplar

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Bioengineering
  • Environmental Engineering
  • Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
  • Waste Management and Disposal

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