title: Rapid, microscale, acetyl bromide-based method for high-throughput determination of lignin content in Arabidopsis thaliana.
abstract: The acetyl bromide method has been modified to enable the rapid microscale determination of lignin content in Arabidopsis with the goal of determining the genes that control lignin in plants. Modifications include reduction in sample size, use of a microball mill, adoption of a modified rapid method of extraction, use of an ice-bath to stabilize solutions and reduction in the volume of solutions. The microscale method was shown to be rapid, accurate and precise with values in agreement with those determined by the full-scale acetyl bromide method. The extinction coefficient for Arabidopsis lignin, dissolved using acetyl bromide, was determined to be 23.35 g(-1) L cm(-1) at 280 nm. This value is independent of the Arabidopsis accession, environmental growth conditions and is insensitive to lignin structure. The newly developed method can be used to determine lignin content in the inflorescence stems of Arabidopsis for mapping of lignin-related genes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Wood Science, The University of British Columbia, 2900-2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4.
authors.forename: Xue Feng
authors.initials: XF
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chandra
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Berleth
authors.forename: Rodger P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Beatson
mesh_terms: D000085:Acetates; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000737:chemistry*; D008031:Lignin / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics; D018547:Plant Stems / Q000737:chemistry; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012995:Solubility
chemical_list: D000085:Acetates; D008031:Lignin; C412887:acetyl bromide