UK-Brazil partnership.

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The proposal is for a small project which, if successful, would represent a major step forward in our understanding of genes controlling cell wall properties of grasses, which include not only grassland crops but also major food crops such as wheat, rice and sugar cane. These cell walls represent the great majority of biomass in grass vegetation and therefore are the main constituent of by-products of crop food production such as cereal straw and sugar cane residues. If they could be made more digestible, these huge amounts of biomass would become more valuable for bioethanol production and for animal feed. It is believed that feruloylation in grass cell walls makes them less digestible by linking the polysaccharide sugars to lignin, which inhibits digestion. However the genes responsible for feruloylation are unknown. We have identified candidate genes in the BAHD gene family and have designed a DNA sequence to specifically suppress the acitivity of these genes in a model grass species (Brachypodium distachyon). The proposed work is to introduce this sequence into the Brachypodium plants and then compare the GM plants with control plants. We will therefore determine if feruloylation has been decreased by suppressing the BAHD genes. If it has, these plants will become invaluable tools for studying feruloylation of cell walls and the way it affects the properties of the cell walls. In particular, we will study the impact on digestibility of biomass.