Lipophilic extractives from wood and nonwood fibers exert a negative impact in pulp and paper manufacture causing pitch deposits. We have shown the effectiveness of the laccase-mediator system in removing pulp lipids regardless the pulping process and the raw material used. The enzymatic treatments were performed using a fungal laccase from Pycnoporus cinnabarinus and 1-hydroxybenzotriazole (HBT) as mediator. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry of extracts from the enzymatically-treated pulps revealed that most of the lipids (including free and conjugated sitosterol, fatty and resin acids, and triglycerides) were removed. Improved pulp brightness and decreased kappa number were also observed. Then, the chemistry of the reactions of lipophilic extractives with laccase-HBT was studied using model alkanes, fatty alcohols, fatty acids, resin acids, free sterols, sterol esters and triglycerides. The laccase alone modified some unsaturated lipids, however, the most rapid and extensive removal was obtained in the presence of mediator. Different degradation patterns were observed, and several oxidation products were identified. Lignin related phenols were tested as alternative to synthetic mediators for lipid removal from eucalypt pulp. Over 90% removal of free and conjugated sitosterol, similar to that attained with HBT, was obtained with some of them. A positive effect on pulp brightness and kappa number was also obtained, especially after a peroxide stage. ; This work was supported by the Spanish projects AGL2008-00709, BIO2007-28719-E and BIO2008-01533, and the BIORENEW project of the European Union (contract NMP2-CT-2006-026456). INRA (Marseille, France) is acknowledged for the P. cinnabarinus strain, and Beldem (Andenne, Belgium) for laccase production. ENCE (Pontevedra, Spain), UPM Kymmene (Valkeakoski, Finland), and CELESA (Tortosa, Spain), and UPC (Terrassa, Spain) are acknowledged for the eucalypt pulp, spruce TMP pulp and flax pulp samples, respectively. ; Peer reviewed
14 páginas.-- 10 figuras.-- 1 tabla.-- 46 referencias.-- Author's Choice—Final version free via Creative Commons CC-BY license. ; Versatile peroxidase (VP) is a high redox-potential peroxidase of biotechnological interest that is able to oxidize phenolic and non-phenolic aromatics, Mn2 , and different dyes. The ability of VP from Pleurotus eryngii to oxidize water-soluble lignins (softwood and hardwood lignosulfonates) is demonstrated here by a combination of directed mutagenesis and spectroscopic techniques, among others. In addition, direct electron transfer between the peroxidase and the lignin macromolecule was kinetically characterized using stopped-flow spectrophotometry. VP variants were used to show that this reaction strongly depends on the presence of a solvent-exposed tryptophan residue (Trp-164). Moreover, the tryptophanyl radical detected by EPR spectroscopy of H2O2-activated VP (being absent from the W164S variant) was identified as catalytically active because it was reduced during lignosulfonate oxidation, resulting in the appearance of a lignin radical. The decrease of lignin fluorescence (excitation at 355 nm/emission at 400 nm) during VP treatment under steady-state conditions was accompanied by a decrease of the lignin (aromatic nuclei and side chains) signals in one-dimensional and two-dimensional NMR spectra, confirming the ligninolytic capabilities of the enzyme. Simultaneously, size-exclusion chromatography showed an increase of the molecular mass of the modified residual lignin, especially for the (low molecular mass) hardwood lignosulfonate, revealing that the oxidation products tend to recondense during the VP treatment. Finally, mutagenesis of selected residues neighboring Trp-164 resulted in improved apparent second-order rate constants for lignosulfonate reactions, revealing that changes in its protein environment (modifying the net negative charge and/or substrate accessibility/binding) can modulate the reactivity of the catalytic tryptophan ; This work was supported by the INDOX (KBBE-2013-613549) European Union project, the HIPOP (BIO2011-26694), NOESIS (BIO2014-56388-R), and BIORENZYMERY (AGL2014-53730-R) projects of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) co-financed by FEDER funds, and the PRIN 2009-STNWX3 project of the Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR). ; Supported by an FPI Fellowship of the Spanish MINECO.-- Supported by a contract of the CSIC project 201440E097.-- Supported by a Ramón y Cajal contract of the Spanish MINECO ; Peer reviewed
19 páginas.- 9 figuras.- referencias ; Tomato varieties resistant to the bacterial wilt pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum have the ability to restrict bacterial movement in the plant. Inducible vascular cell wall reinforcements seem to play a key role in confining R. solanacearum into the xylem vasculature of resistant tomato. However, the type of compounds involved in such vascular physico-chemical barriers remain understudied, while being a key component of resistance. Here we use a combination of histological and live-imaging techniques, together with spectroscopy and gene expression analysis to understand the nature of R. solanacearum-induced formation of vascular coatings in resistant tomato. We describe that resistant tomato specifically responds to infection by assembling a vascular structural barrier formed by a ligno-suberin coating and tyramine-derived hydroxycinnamic acid amides. Further, we show that overexpressing genes of the ligno-suberin pathway in a commercial susceptible variety of tomato restricts R. solanacearum movement inside the plant and slows disease progression, enhancing resistance to the pathogen. We propose that the induced barrier in resistant plants does not only restrict the movement of the pathogen, but may also prevent cell wall degradation by the pathogen and confer anti-microbial properties, effectively contributing to resistance. ; Research is funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 (NSC, MV), MCIN/AEI/PID2019-110330GB-C21 (MF, OS), MCIN/AEI/PID2020-118968RBI00 (JR), through the 'Severo Ochoa Programme for Centres of Excellence in R&D' (SEV-2015-0533, CEX2019-000917 and CEX2019-000902-S funded by MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033), and by the Spanish National Research Council (CISC) pie-201620E081 (JR, AG) and the Generalitat de Catalunya (2017SGR765 grant). AK is the recipient of a Netaji Subhas – Indian Council of Agricultural Research International Fellowship. SS acknowledges financial support from DOC-FAM, European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 754397. This work was also supported by the CERCA Program/Generalitat de Catalunya. ; Peer reviewed
Coumarate 3-hydroxylase (C3H) catalyzes a key step of the synthesis of the two main lignin subunits, guaiacyl (G) and syringyl (S) in dicotyledonous species. As no functional data are available in regards to this enzyme in monocotyledonous species, we generated C3H1 knock-down maize plants. The results obtained indicate that C3H1 participates in lignin biosynthesis as its down-regulation redirects the phenylpropanoid flux: as a result, increased amounts of p-hydroxyphenyl (H) units, lignin-associated ferulates and the flavone tricin were detected in transgenic stems cell walls. Altogether, these changes make stem cell walls more degradable in the most C3H1-repressed plants, despite their unaltered polysaccharide content. The increase in H monomers is moderate compared to C3H deficient Arabidopsis and alfalfa plants. This could be due to the existence of a second maize C3H protein (C3H2) that can compensate the reduced levels of C3H1 in these C3H1-RNAi maize plants. The reduced expression of C3H1 alters the macroscopic phenotype of the plants, whose growth is inhibited proportionally to the extent of C3H1 repression. Finally, the down-regulation of C3H1 also increases the synthesis of flavonoids, leading to the accumulation of anthocyanins in transgenic leaves. ; Funding: This work was supported by the Spanish "Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad" [AGL2011-30545-C02-01 to D.C.-R., AGL2011-30545-C02-02 to A.E., and AGL2011-25379 (co-financed by FEDER funds) to J.C.R.] and received financial support from the CONSOLIDER-INGENIO program [CSD2007-00036] from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación. This work was carried out within the framework of the "Xarxa de Referència de Biotecnologia" (XarBa) from the Autonomous Government of Catalonia. R.S. was financed by the postdoctoral contracts "Isidro Parga Pondal" supported by the Autonomous Government of Galicia and the European Social Fund and "Ramón y Cajal", supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the University of Vigo. J.R. thanks CSIC for a JAE-DOC contract of the program "Junta para la Ampliación de Estudios" co-financed by the European Social Fund. ; Peer Reviewed