Anda di halaman 1dari 21

From Plants to Energy:

Efficient
Lignin
Degradation
Margarette Francis, Maham Hijazi, Reeda Mahmood,
BIOFUELS Riza Unabia & Manaum Zain

1
FOSSIL FUELS: USAGE AND CONCERNS

 “Fossil Fuels” in today’s world


 Green house gasses, climate change and global warming

 Why still use them?


 Economically, it is more beneficial

 Hybrid electric car


 inefficent

2
ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS…

 Biofuels  Ethanol
 Increasingly common option in agricultural and forestry industry in
Canada
 DISADVANTAGE  presence of lignin
 Genomics to overcome this problem
 An exemplary model  SOYBEAN

3
WHY SOYBEAN?

Soybean (Glycine max)


Abundant all over the world
Grown in Southern and Eastern Ontario
Breeding advances (E.O)
Significant source of protein and oil

4
ETHANOL AS AN ENERGY SOURCE…

Reduces greenhouse gases


Does not contribute to carbon dioxide
emissions (34% reduction)
Input of energy required to produce
ethanol has dropped by 36%
Gives more energy compared to other renewable sources

5
WHY IS LIGNIN A BARRIER?

 Barrier for cellulose and hemicellulose extraction


 Lignin removal improve the digestibility of the biomass
 Mechanical and chemical treatments are used to breakdown lignin
 rate of reaction is slow
 Altering the pathway in order to reduce lignin is more effective
 rate of reaction is comparatively faster

Wood Composition. (2007). Retrieved from http://learn.forestbioenergy.net/learning-modules/module-6/unit-1/lesson-1


Yarris, L. (2013, November 13). Lignin-Feasting Microbe Holds Promise for Biofuels. States News Service. Retrieved from http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-348985171.html?
6
THE EFFECT OF LIGNIN REDUCTION ON THE
STRUCTURE OF PLANTS

 Removing too much lignin from a plant affects its phenotype


 Research conducted on the plant Arabidopsis thaliana
 Reduction of 64% of lignin, compensated by the increase in matrix
polysaccharides or cellulose
 Afingen technique was used for lignin reduction,
producing functionally and structurally normal plants

Stems & Vascular Tissue. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.sciencepartners.info/?page_id=534


7
The
Phenylpropanoid
Pathway

Reinprecht, Y., Yadegari, Z., Perry, G., Siddiqua, M., Wright, L., Mcclean, P., & Pauls, K. (2013). In silico comparison of genomic regions containing genes coding for enzymes and transcription factors for the phenylpropanoid pathway in
Phaseolus vulgaris L. and Glycine max L. Merr. Frontiers in Plant Science. Retrieved March 19, 2015, from http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpls.2013.00317/full 8
A CLOSER LOOK….

Cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD)


catalyzes the reaction that is involved in the
formation of the monolignols that make up
lignin.

CAD CAD CAD

P-Hydoxyphenol lignin Guaiacyl lignin Syringyl lignin


9
Baldoni, A., Von Pinho, E. V. R., Fernands, J. S., Abreu, V. M., & Carvalho, M. L. M. (2013). Gene Expression in the lignin biosynthesis pathway during soybean seed development. Genet. Mol. Res 12 (3) 2618-2624
METHODS for GENOME EDITING

 Finger nucleases
 RNA interference
 Transcription activator-like effector nucleases
 Expensive and time-consuming

 A recent and more innovative process..

10
CLUSTERED REGULARLY INTERSPACED
SHORT PALINDROMIC REPEATS (CRISPRS)
AND CRISPR-ASSOCIATED (CAS)
PROTEINS

CRISPR/CAS9 SYSTEM

11
WHAT IS IT?

 derived from a natural process found in bacteria to


protect themselves from pathogens
 targets genes for editing and regulating
 comparable to Photoshop

Horizon Licenses Harvard University Gene-Editing Technology. (2013). Drug Discovery & Development . 12
TO INITIATE GENE MODIFICATION,

sgRNA
(single guide RNA)

Cas9 complex
Cas9 nuclease

13
Protospacer
Adjacent Motif
(PAM) Target Sequence

Gene of Interest

14
Non-Homologous End
Joining (NHEJ) DNA
repair pathway

Stop Codon

15
SUMMATION: CRISPR/CAS SYSTEM

sgRNA/Cas9 Cas breaks gene


Induced mutation
complex binds to (double strand
in gene sequence
gene breaks)

altered gene sequence  dysfunctional CAD gene

16
WHAT MAKES A GOOD BIOFUEL?

1. Greenhouse Gas Reduction Potential


2. Cost-Effectiveness
3. Energy Allocations for Crops

17
ABUNDANCE IN CANADA - ONTARIO

Crop Production Data in Metric Tonnes


 Soybean is one of Crops 2012 2013 2014

the most widely Barley 165,500 134,600 151,300


used feedstock for
Corn 8,598,300 9,007,300 7,600,000
biofuel production.
Soybean 3,401,900 3,238,600 3,791,100

 Canada’s second Canola 61,200 49,900 31,300

leading crop. Wheat, winter 1,750,000 2,277,900 1,627,500

Statistics Canada. CANSIM table 001-0010

18
ENERGY ALLOCATIONS

WCBA. Canada. http://westerncanadabiodiesel.org/biodiesel/

Soybean has a much higher net energy balance as compared to various


other feedstocks
19
GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

 According to the Canadian Natural Resources model, GHGenius, soybean


biodiesel and corn ethanol were found to reduce GHG emissions by 50% and 21%,
respectively.
 According to the Greenhouse gases, regulated Emissions and Energy in Transportation
(GREET) model for life cycle analysis, all soybean-derived fuels achieve a significant
reduction (52–107%) in fossil energy use and in petroleum use (more than 85%)

20
WHY IS IT GOOD FOR CANADA?

 Cost-effective
 Eco-friendly
 Sustainable
 Renewable

21

Anda mungkin juga menyukai