Feruloyl-CoA:monolignol transferase
The invention relates to nucleic acids encoding a feruloyl-CoA:monolignol transferase and the feruloyl-CoA:monolignol transferase enzyme that enables incorporation of monolignol ferulates, for example, including p-coumaryl ferulate, coniferyl ferulate, and sinapyl ferulate, into the lignin of plants.
1. A transgenic poplar plant comprising an isolated nucleic acid encoding a feruloyl-CoA:monolignol transferase comprising a DNA sequence with SEQ ID NO: 1.
2. The transgenic poplar plant of claim 1 , wherein the nucleic acid encoding the feruloyl-CoA:monolignol transferase can catalyze the synthesis of monolignol ferulate(s) from monolignol(s) and feruloyl-CoA.
3. The transgenic poplar plant of claim 2 , wherein the monolignol is coniferyl alcohol, p-coumaryl alcohol, sinapyl alcohol or a combination thereof.
4. The transgenic poplar plant of claim 1 , wherein the nucleic acid encodes a feruloyl-CoA:monolignol transferase polypeptide with SEQ ID NO: 2.
5. The transgenic poplar plant of claim 1 , wherein the nucleic acid encoding the feruloyl-CoA:monolignol transferase is operably linked to a promoter functional in a plant host cell.
6. The transgenic poplar plant of claim 5 , wherein the promoter is a poplar xylem-specific secondary cell wall specific cellulose synthase 8 promoter or a cauliflower mosaic virus promoter.
7. The transgenic poplar plant of claim 1 , wherein the nucleic acid encoding the feruloyl-CoA:monolignol transferase is linked to a selectable marker gene.
8. The transgenic plant of claim 1 , wherein the percent of monolignol ferulates in the plant's lignin is increased relative to an untransformed poplar plant.
9. The transgenic plant of claim 1 , wherein the percent of monolignol ferulates in the plant's lignin is increased by at least 1% relative to an untransformed poplar plant.
10. The transgenic plant of claim 1 , wherein the percent of monolignol ferulates in the plant's lignin is increased by at least 2-5% relative to an untransformed poplar plant.
11. The transgenic plant of claim 1 , wherein the transgenic plant is fertile.
12. A fertile transgenic poplar plant having an increased percent of monolignol ferulates in the plant's lignin, the genome of which is stably transformed by a nucleic acid comprising a DNA sequence with SEQ ID NO:1, wherein the nucleic acid is operably linked to a promoter functional in a host cell, and wherein the feruloyl-CoA:monolignol transferase nucleic acid is transmitted through a complete normal sexual cycle of the transgenic plant to the next generation.
13. The poplar plant of claim 12 , wherein the percent of monolignol ferulates in the plant's lignin is increased relative to a corresponding untransformed plant.
14. The poplar plant of claim 12 , wherein the percent of monolignol ferulates in the plant's lignin is increased by at least 1% relative to a corresponding untransformed plant.
15. The poplar plant of claim 12 , wherein the percent of monolignol ferulates in the plant's lignin is increased by at least 2-5% relative to a corresponding untransformed plant.
16. A method of making a product from a poplar plant comprising:
(a) providing a poplar plant that includes an isolated nucleic acid encoding a feruloyl-CoA:monolignol transferase comprising a DNA sequence with SEQ ID NO:1; and
(b) processing the poplar plant's tissues under conditions sufficient to digest the lignin; and thereby generate the product from the poplar plant,
wherein the poplar plant's tissues comprise lignin having an increased percent of monolignol ferulates relative to a corresponding untransformed plant.
17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the conditions sufficient to digest the lignin comprise conditions sufficient to cleave ester bonds within monolignol ferulate-containing lignin.
18. The method of claim 16 , wherein the conditions sufficient to digest the lignin comprise mildly alkaline conditions.
19. The method of claim 16 , wherein the conditions sufficient to digest the lignin comprise contacting the poplar plant's tissues with ammonia for a time and a temperature sufficient to cleave ester bonds within monolignol ferulate-containing lignin.
20. The method of claim 16 , wherein the conditions sufficient to digest the lignin would not cleave substantially any of the ether and carbon-carbon bonds in lignin from a poplar plant that does not contain the isolated nucleic acid encoding the feruloyl-CoA:monolignol transferase.