Transgenic hybrid poplar for sustainable and scalable production of the commodity/specialty chemical, 2-phenylethanol

PLoS One. 2013 Dec 26;8(12):e83169. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0083169. eCollection 2013.

Abstract

Fast growing hybrid poplar offers the means for sustainable production of specialty and commodity chemicals, in addition to rapid biomass production for lignocellulosic deconstruction. Herein we describe transformation of fast-growing transgenic hybrid poplar lines to produce 2-phenylethanol, this being an important fragrance, flavor, aroma, and commodity chemical. It is also readily converted into styrene or ethyl benzene, the latter being an important commodity aviation fuel component. Introducing this biochemical pathway into hybrid poplars marks the beginnings of developing a platform for a sustainable chemical delivery system to afford this and other valuable specialty/commodity chemicals at the scale and cost needed. These modified plant lines mainly sequester 2-phenylethanol via carbohydrate and other covalently linked derivatives, thereby providing an additional advantage of effective storage until needed. The future potential of this technology is discussed. MALDI metabolite tissue imaging also established localization of these metabolites in the leaf vasculature.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

  • Cloning, Molecular
  • Escherichia coli / genetics
  • Phenylethyl Alcohol / chemistry
  • Phenylethyl Alcohol / metabolism*
  • Plants, Genetically Modified / metabolism*
  • Populus / genetics
  • Populus / metabolism*
  • Populus / physiology
  • Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization
  • Transformation, Genetic

Substances

  • Phenylethyl Alcohol

Grants and funding

This research was supported in part by Washington State University Agricultural Research Center federal special grant Project No. WNP00768 “Aegilops Cylindrica, WA,” one of whose various objectives focused on transgenic poplar development with funding received from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institutes for Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA). Additionally, the authors thank USDA-NIFA (#683A757612), and the G. Thomas and Anita Hargrove Center for Plant Genomic Research for generous financial support. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.