title: Characterization of starch granules in rice culms for application of rice straw as a feedstock for saccharification.
abstract: Rice plants are known to accumulate starch in leaf sheaths and culms, and in some cultivars significant amounts of starch are present at the mature stage. This can be considered as potential feedstock for the recovery of fermentable sugars. We isolated starches from the culms of cultivars Yumeaoba, Koshihikari, and Leafstar to investigate their structural and physical features. Yumeaoba culm starch contained 20.2% amylose, whereas Koshihikari and Leafstar contained 25.8% and 25.2%. Yumeaoba culm starch was found by chain-length distribution analysis to contain higher amounts of short chains, resulting in lower gelatinization temperature by 7 degrees C, as compared to Koshihikari and Leafstar. Consequently, the rate of enzymatic hydrolysis of Yumeaoba culm starches reached maximum at a lower temperature than Leafstar. Rice culm starch, with a lower gelatinization temperature, can provide an advantageous material for feedstock for bioethanol production in terms of energy conservation.
authors.affiliation: National Food Research Institute, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), Kannondai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: Junko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Matsuki
authors.forename: Jeung-Yil
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Riki
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shiroma
authors.forename: Yumiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Arai-Sanoh
authors.forename: Masashi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ida
authors.forename: Motohiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kondo
authors.forename: Kota
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Motobayashi
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tokuyasu
mesh_terms: D001407:Bacillus / Q000201:enzymology; D056804:Biofuels; D050260:Carbohydrate Metabolism; D005780:Gelatin / Q000378:metabolism; D006868:Hydrolysis; D012275:Oryza / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D013213:Starch / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D000516:alpha-Amylases / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D056804:Biofuels; D005780:Gelatin; D013213:Starch; D000516:alpha-Amylases