Thermal Autoprocessing of Plant Biomass

For fuels and other valuable industrial chemicals to be produced from plant biomass, plant polysaccharides must first be broken down to yield fermentable sugars. Enzymes that perform this step can be added during processing, but they are expensive. New strategies focus on engineering plants for easier processing without causing negative physiological consequences.

A University of Nebraska-Lincoln research team led by Dr. Paul Blum has identified microbial genes that, when introduced to crop plants, allow simple processing of plant polysaccharides to biofuels and other value-added chemicals. When heated to high temperatures, the plant biomass digests itself to produce sugars, with no need for added enzymes. However, the genes have no effect on plants under normal growth conditions.

• Simple processing step requires only heating and may reduce production costs
• No need to add purified hydrolase enzymes during processing
• Autoprocessing of plant material is induced only at high temperatures (>80°C), not under plant growth conditions
• Compatible with current bioprocessing techniques
• Plant biomass can be stored prior to processing with no loss of autohydrolase activity

• Montalvo-Rodriguez R, Haseltine C, Huess-LaRossa K, Clemente T, Soto J, Staswick P, Blum P. (2000) "Autohydrolysis of plant polysaccharides using transgenic hyperthermophilic enzymes.” Biotechnol. Bioeneng. 70(2):151-159
• Rolfsmeier M, Haseltine C, Bini E, Clark A, Blum P. (1998) "Molecular Characterization of the a-Glucosidase Gene ( malA) from the Hyperthermophilic Archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus.” J. Bact. 180(5):1287-1295.