Experiments identify important new role of chemical compounds in plant development

Purdue researchers have found that they can rescue the growth deficit of Arabidopsis thaliana plants with altered lignin composition by adding pinoresinol. Credit: Fabiola Muro-Villanueva)

Researchers who manipulate lignin, a molecular fiber that allows plants to grow tall and transport water, unexpectedly discovered its synthesis has more far-reaching effects on plant development than previously suspected.

“My lab has had a long interest in studying the extent to which we can modify plants, specifically the lignin ,” said Clint Chapple, Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry at Purdue University. “Of all of the components that make up the plant body, lignin is the one that’s easiest to manipulate. And it has an impact. The pulp and paper process is really about removing lignin.”

Lignin also affects the quality of animal feedstocks and of to produce biofuels. “We’ve had some significant success with it over the years. But we ran into a set of observations that we couldn’t explain,” Chapple said.

Chapple’s team genetically engineered the flow of chemical precursors that feed the pathway leading to lignin biosynthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana, a widely used experimental plant species.

“When

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