Enhancing monolignol ferulate conjugate levels in poplar lignin via OsFMT1

Enhancing monolignol ferulate conjugate levels in poplar lignin via OsFMT1 | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Enhancing monolignol ferulate conjugate levels in poplar lignin via OsFMT1 Faride Unda, Lisanne Vries, Steve D. Karlen, Jordan Rainbow, Chengcheng Zhang, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4369825/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 7 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background The phenolic polymer lignin is one of the primary chemical constituents of the plant secondary cell wall. Due to the inherent plasticity of lignin biosynthesis, several phenolic monomers have been shown to be incorporated into the polymer, as long as the monomer can undergo radicalization so it can participate in coupling reactions. In this study, we significantly enhance the level of incorporation of monolignol ferulate conjugates into the lignin polymer to improve the digestibility of lignocellulosic biomass. Results Overexpression of a rice Feruloyl-CoA Monolignol Transferase (FMT), OsFMT1, in hybrid poplar (Populus alba x grandidentata) produced transgenic trees clearly displaying increased cell wallbound ester-linked ferulate, p-hydroxybenzoate, and p-coumarate, all of which are in the lignin cell wall fraction, as shown by NMR and DFRC. We also demonstrate the use of a novel UV-Vis spectroscopy technique to rapidly screen plants for the presence of both ferulate and phydroxybenzoate esters. Lastly, we show via saccharification assays, that the OsFMT1 transgenic poplars have significantly improved processing efficiency compared to wild-type poplars as well as AsFMT poplars Conclusions The findings demonstrate that OsFMT1 has a broad substrate specificity and a higher catalytic efficiency compared to the previously published FMT from Angelica sinensis (AsFMT). Importantly, the increased processing efficiency makes OsFMT1 a promising gene to optimize the composition of lignocellulosic biomass. Lignin monolignol ferulate conjugates Feruloyl-CoA Monolignol Transferase poplar UV-Vis spectroscopy cell wall characterization Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 12 Jun, 2024 Reviews received at journal 11 Jun, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 13 May, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 07 May, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 06 May, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 06 May, 2024 First submitted to journal 04 May, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4369825","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":300782609,"identity":"0287778f-a4b5-47ee-8f0a-645dd1856eed","order_by":0,"name":"Faride Unda","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of British Columbia","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Faride","middleName":"","lastName":"Unda","suffix":""},{"id":300782612,"identity":"7c7d7182-06a7-49ba-9973-e58a933ccd60","order_by":1,"name":"Lisanne Vries","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of British Columbia","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Lisanne","middleName":"","lastName":"Vries","suffix":""},{"id":300782614,"identity":"f66eb250-da5d-4aaf-86e0-00899fa24e2f","order_by":2,"name":"Steve D. 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