Lignin structure and its engineering

• Published in: Current opinion in biotechnology Vol. 56; no. C; pp. 240 - 249
• Main Authors: Ralph, John, Lapierre, Catherine, Boerjan, Wout
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.04.2019; Elsevier
• Subjects: BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES; biochemical pathways; Biosynthetic Pathways; Cell Wall - chemistry; Cell Wall - metabolism; cell walls; Chemical and Process Engineering; engineering; Engineering Sciences; Food engineering; genes; Life Sciences; lignin; Lignin - chemistry; Lignin - metabolism; Metabolic Engineering; Models, Molecular; phenolic compounds; polysaccharides; Vegetal Biology
• ISSN: 0958-1669; 1879-0429; 1879-0429
• DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2019.02.019

[Display omitted] •New monomers have been discovered, and structural aspects of the lignin polymer have been refined.•The definition of a lignin monomer has been broadened.•Lignification is strikingly metabolically plastic.•Actual lignin ‘design’ can be contemplated.•Findings portend improved utilization potential and enhanced value for lignin. Studies on lignin structure and its engineering are inextricably and bidirectionally linked. Perturbations of genes on the lignin biosynthetic pathway may result in striking compositional and structural changes that in turn suggest novel approaches for altering lignin and even ‘designing’ the polymer to enhance its value or with a view toward its simpler removal from the cell wall polysaccharides. Basic structural studies on various native lignins increasingly refine our knowledge of lignin structure, and examining lignins in different species reveals the extent to which evolution and natural variation have resulted in the incorporation of ‘non-traditional’ phenolic monomers, including phenolics from beyond the monolignol biosynthetic pathway. As a result, the very definition of lignin continues to be expanded and refined.