Transgenic hybrid poplar for sustainable and scalable production of the commodity/specialty chemical, 2-phenylethanol

Fast growing hybrid poplar offers the means for sustainable production of specialty and commodity chemicals, in addition to rapid biomass production for lignocellulosic deconstruction. Herein we describe transformation of fast-growing transgenic hybrid poplar lines to produce 2-phenylethanol, this b...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2013-12, Vol.8 (12), p.e83169-e83169
Main Authors: Costa, Michael A, Marques, Joaquim V, Dalisay, Doralyn S, Herman, Barrington, Bedgar, Diana L, Davin, Laurence B, Lewis, Norman G
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aircraft fuels
Amino acids
Aroma
Aroma compounds
Aviation
Aviation fuel
Benzene
Biosynthesis
Carbohydrates
Chemicals
Chemistry
Cloning
Cloning, Molecular
Commodities
Enzymes
Escherichia coli - genetics
Ethyl benzene
Flavonoids
Flavor
Flowers & plants
Genetic engineering
Genomes
Hydrocarbons
Lignocellulose
Localization
Metabolism
Metabolites
Molecular biology
Natural products
Phenylethyl Alcohol - chemistry
Phenylethyl Alcohol - metabolism
Physiology
Plants, Genetically Modified - metabolism
Poplar
Populus - genetics
Populus - metabolism
Populus - physiology
Populus tremula
Populus tremuloides
Populus trichocarpa
Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization
Styrene
Sustainability
Sustainable production
Transformation
Transformation, Genetic
Transgenic
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Summary:Fast growing hybrid poplar offers the means for sustainable production of specialty and commodity chemicals, in addition to rapid biomass production for lignocellulosic deconstruction. Herein we describe transformation of fast-growing transgenic hybrid poplar lines to produce 2-phenylethanol, this being an important fragrance, flavor, aroma, and commodity chemical. It is also readily converted into styrene or ethyl benzene, the latter being an important commodity aviation fuel component. Introducing this biochemical pathway into hybrid poplars marks the beginnings of developing a platform for a sustainable chemical delivery system to afford this and other valuable specialty/commodity chemicals at the scale and cost needed. These modified plant lines mainly sequester 2-phenylethanol via carbohydrate and other covalently linked derivatives, thereby providing an additional advantage of effective storage until needed. The future potential of this technology is discussed. MALDI metabolite tissue imaging also established localization of these metabolites in the leaf vasculature.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0083169