Overexpression of a BAHD acyltransferase, OsAt10, alters rice cell wall hydroxycinnamic acid content and saccharification

Plant Physiol. 2013 Apr;161(4):1615-33. doi: 10.1104/pp.112.208694. Epub 2013 Feb 7.

Abstract

Grass cell wall properties influence food, feed, and biofuel feedstock usage efficiency. The glucuronoarabinoxylan of grass cell walls is esterified with the phenylpropanoid-derived hydroxycinnamic acids ferulic acid (FA) and para-coumaric acid (p-CA). Feruloyl esters undergo oxidative coupling with neighboring phenylpropanoids on glucuronoarabinoxylan and lignin. Examination of rice (Oryza sativa) mutants in a grass-expanded and -diverged clade of BAHD acyl-coenzyme A-utilizing transferases identified four mutants with altered cell wall FA or p-CA contents. Here, we report on the effects of overexpressing one of these genes, OsAt10 (LOC_Os06g39390), in rice. An activation-tagged line, OsAT10-D1, shows a 60% reduction in matrix polysaccharide-bound FA and an approximately 300% increase in p-CA in young leaf tissue but no discernible phenotypic alterations in vegetative development, lignin content, or lignin composition. Two additional independent OsAt10 overexpression lines show similar changes in FA and p-CA content. Cell wall fractionation and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry experiments isolate the cell wall alterations in the mutant to ester conjugates of a five-carbon sugar with p-CA and FA. These results suggest that OsAT10 is a p-coumaroyl coenzyme A transferase involved in glucuronoarabinoxylan modification. Biomass from OsAT10-D1 exhibits a 20% to 40% increase in saccharification yield depending on the assay. Thus, OsAt10 is an attractive target for improving grass cell wall quality for fuel and animal feed.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Acetyl-CoA C-Acyltransferase / metabolism
  • Acyltransferases / metabolism*
  • Carbohydrate Metabolism*
  • Cell Wall / enzymology*
  • Coumaric Acids / chemistry
  • Coumaric Acids / metabolism*
  • DNA, Bacterial / genetics
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
  • Genetic Testing
  • Genome, Plant / genetics
  • Glucose / metabolism
  • Inheritance Patterns / genetics
  • Lignin / metabolism
  • Mutagenesis, Insertional / genetics
  • Mutation / genetics
  • Oryza / cytology*
  • Oryza / enzymology*
  • Oryza / genetics
  • Oryza / growth & development
  • Penicillium / metabolism
  • Phenotype
  • Phylogeny
  • Plant Leaves / metabolism
  • Plant Proteins / metabolism*
  • Principal Component Analysis
  • Solubility
  • Trifluoroacetic Acid / metabolism

Substances

  • Coumaric Acids
  • DNA, Bacterial
  • Plant Proteins
  • T-DNA
  • Lignin
  • Trifluoroacetic Acid
  • Acyltransferases
  • Acetyl-CoA C-Acyltransferase
  • Glucose