Feruloyl-CoA:monolignol transferase

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9487794-B2
Application number	US-201113811855-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 22, 2011
Priority date	Jul 23, 2010
Publication date	Nov 8, 2016
Grant date	Nov 8, 2016

Abstract

The invention relates to nucleic acids encoding a feruloyl-CoA:monolignol transferase and the feruloyl-CoA:monolignol transferase enzyme that enables incorporation of monolignol ferulates, for example, including p-coumaryl ferulate, coniferyl ferulate, and sinapyl ferulate, into the lignin of plants.

First claim

What is claimed:

1. A transgenic poplar plant comprising an isolated nucleic acid encoding a feruloyl-CoA:monolignol transferase comprising a DNA sequence with SEQ ID NO: 1.

2. The transgenic poplar plant of claim 1 , wherein the nucleic acid encoding the feruloyl-CoA:monolignol transferase can catalyze the synthesis of monolignol ferulate(s) from monolignol(s) and feruloyl-CoA.

3. The transgenic poplar plant of claim 2 , wherein the monolignol is coniferyl alcohol, p-coumaryl alcohol, sinapyl alcohol or a combination thereof.

4. The transgenic poplar plant of claim 1 , wherein the nucleic acid encodes a feruloyl-CoA:monolignol transferase polypeptide with SEQ ID NO: 2.

5. The transgenic poplar plant of claim 1 , wherein the nucleic acid encoding the feruloyl-CoA:monolignol transferase is operably linked to a promoter functional in a plant host cell.

6. The transgenic poplar plant of claim 5 , wherein the promoter is a poplar xylem-specific secondary cell wall specific cellulose synthase 8 promoter or a cauliflower mosaic virus promoter.

7. The transgenic poplar plant of claim 1 , wherein the nucleic acid encoding the feruloyl-CoA:monolignol transferase is linked to a selectable marker gene.

8. The transgenic plant of claim 1 , wherein the percent of monolignol ferulates in the plant's lignin is increased relative to an untransformed poplar plant.

9. The transgenic plant of claim 1 , wherein the percent of monolignol ferulates in the plant's lignin is increased by at least 1% relative to an untransformed poplar plant.

10. The transgenic plant of claim 1 , wherein the percent of monolignol ferulates in the plant's lignin is increased by at least 2-5% relative to an untransformed poplar plant.

11. The transgenic plant of claim 1 , wherein the transgenic plant is fertile.

12. A fertile transgenic poplar plant having an increased percent of monolignol ferulates in the plant's lignin, the genome of which is stably transformed by a nucleic acid comprising a DNA sequence with SEQ ID NO:1, wherein the nucleic acid is operably linked to a promoter functional in a host cell, and wherein the feruloyl-CoA:monolignol transferase nucleic acid is transmitted through a complete normal sexual cycle of the transgenic plant to the next generation.

13. The poplar plant of claim 12 , wherein the percent of monolignol ferulates in the plant's lignin is increased relative to a corresponding untransformed plant.

14. The poplar plant of claim 12 , wherein the percent of monolignol ferulates in the plant's lignin is increased by at least 1% relative to a corresponding untransformed plant.

15. The poplar plant of claim 12 , wherein the percent of monolignol ferulates in the plant's lignin is increased by at least 2-5% relative to a corresponding untransformed plant.

16. A method of making a product from a poplar plant comprising:
(a) providing a poplar plant that includes an isolated nucleic acid encoding a feruloyl-CoA:monolignol transferase comprising a DNA sequence with SEQ ID NO:1; and
(b) processing the poplar plant's tissues under conditions sufficient to digest the lignin; and thereby generate the product from the poplar plant,
wherein the poplar plant's tissues comprise lignin having an increased percent of monolignol ferulates relative to a corresponding untransformed plant.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the conditions sufficient to digest the lignin comprise conditions sufficient to cleave ester bonds within monolignol ferulate-containing lignin.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein the conditions sufficient to digest the lignin comprise mildly alkaline conditions.

19. The method of claim 16 , wherein the conditions sufficient to digest the lignin comprise contacting the poplar plant's tissues with ammonia for a time and a temperature sufficient to cleave ester bonds within monolignol ferulate-containing lignin.

20. The method of claim 16 , wherein the conditions sufficient to digest the lignin would not cleave substantially any of the ether and carbon-carbon bonds in lignin from a poplar plant that does not contain the isolated nucleic acid encoding the feruloyl-CoA:monolignol transferase.

Assignees

• Wilkerson Curtis
• Ralph John
• Withers Saunia
• Mansfield Shawn D
• Univ Michigan State
• Univ British Columbia
• Wisconsin Alumni Res Found

Inventors

• Wilkerson Curtis
• Ralph John
• Withers Saunia
• Mansfield Shawn D

Classifications

• C12Y203/01133

  Shikimate O-hydroxycinnamoyltransferase (2.3.1.133) · CPC title

• C07G1/00 Primary

  Low-molecular-weight derivatives of lignin (high-molecular-weight derivatives of lignin {C08H6/00}) · CPC title

• C08H6/00 Primary

  Macromolecular compounds derived from lignin, e.g. tannins, humic acids · CPC title

• C12N9/1029

  transferring groups other than amino-acyl groups (2.3.1) · CPC title

• C12N15/8255 Primary

  involving lignin biosynthesis · CPC title