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Genetic And Environmental Control Of Lignin Biosynthesis And C Emission From Crop Stover, Sarah Hill-Skinner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Lignin is the second most abundant terrestrial biopolymer in the world and provides structural strength to plants. The maize brown midrib (bm) mutants accumulate less and altered lignin relative to non-mutants. Maize bm4-encoded folylpolyglutamate synthase functions to generate the preferred substrate of folate-dependent enzymes, such as bm2-encoded methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase. Consistent with bm4’s predicted function upstream of bm2, both mutants display a 7-10% reduction in lignin content and a 16-40% increase in S/G lignin ratio relative to wild-type. This interplay between lignin biosynthesis and various metabolic processes is also seen between lignin and stover carbon emission. As climate change ...