title: Lignification of Sheepgrass Internodes at Different Developmental Stages and Associated Alteration of Cell Wall Saccharification Efficiency.
abstract: Sheepgrass (Leymus chinensis) is a high-quality cool-season forage crop used as pasture and hay for livestock feeds. The presence of lignin in cell walls, however, impairs forage digestibility of such lignocellulosic feedstock. Here, the structural characterization and cell wall composition of sheepgrass internodes were studied, and a progressive increase in cell wall lignification was observed with internode maturation. Lignin composition analysis further revealed a gradual accumulation of guaiacyl and syringyl lignin units during internode development. Consistently, the transcript abundance of lignin-related genes was upregulated in mature internodes, suggesting their potential roles in lignin biosynthesis. Furthermore, the effects of cell wall composition and lignification extent on biomass saccharification efficiency were examined in sheepgrass. The results showed that lignin content, guaiacyl and syringyl lignin unit levels inversely correlated with cell wall digestibility, indicating that lignin is a crucial obstacle for utilizing sheepgrass feedstock. The baseline information obtained in this work will facilitate establishment, grazing management, harvesting and feedstock utilization of sheepgrass in future.
authors.affiliation: Grass and Science Institute of Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural SciencesHarbin, China; Key Laboratory of Biofuels, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Energy Genetics, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of SciencesQingdao, China.
authors.forename: Jianli
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biofuels, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Energy Genetics, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of SciencesQingdao, China; Qingdao Engineering Research Center of Biomass Resources and Environment, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of SciencesQingdao, China.
authors.forename: Lichao
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Grass and Science Institute of Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences Harbin, China.
authors.forename: Zhongbao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Grass and Science Institute of Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences Harbin, China.
authors.forename: Dequan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Rural Energy Research Institute of Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences Harbin, China.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biofuels, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Energy Genetics, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of SciencesQingdao, China; Qingdao Engineering Research Center of Biomass Resources and Environment, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of SciencesQingdao, China.
authors.forename: Zetao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.affiliation: Grass and Science Institute of Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural SciencesHarbin, China; Key Laboratory of Biofuels, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Energy Genetics, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of SciencesQingdao, China.
authors.forename: Hailing
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biofuels, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Energy Genetics, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of SciencesQingdao, China; Qingdao Engineering Research Center of Biomass Resources and Environment, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of SciencesQingdao, China.
authors.forename: Yingping
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biofuels, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Energy Genetics, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of SciencesQingdao, China; Qingdao Engineering Research Center of Biomass Resources and Environment, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of SciencesQingdao, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biofuels, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Energy Genetics, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of SciencesQingdao, China; Qingdao Engineering Research Center of Biomass Resources and Environment, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of SciencesQingdao, China.
authors.forename: Chunxiang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fu
keywords: cell wall; forage; lignification; saccharification; sheepgrass