Journal
CURRENT OPINION IN BIOTECHNOLOGY
Volume 56, Issue -, Pages 105-111Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2018.10.011
Keywords
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Funding
- initiative of excellence IDEX-unistra under the French national program 'Investment for the future' [ANR-10-IDEX-0002-02]
- Searle Scholars Program [15-SSP-162]
- National Science Foundation [1709616]
- Direct For Mathematical & Physical Scien
- Division Of Chemistry [1709616] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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Lignin evolved concomitantly with the rise of vascular plants on planet earth 450 million years ago. Several iterations of exploiting ancestral phenylpropanoid metabolism for biopolymers occurred prior to lignin that facilitated early plants' adaptation to terrestrial environments. The first true lignin was constructed via oxidative coupling of a number of simple phenylpropanoid alcohols to form a sturdy polymer that supports long-distance water transport. This invention has directly contributed to the dominance of vascular plants in the Earth's flora, and has had a profound impact on the establishment of the rich terrestrial ecosystems as we know them today. Within vascular plants, new lignin traits continued to emerge with expanded biological functions pertinent to host fitness under complex environmental niches. Understanding the chemical and biochemical basis for lignin's evolution in diverse plants therefore offers new opportunities and tools for engineering desirable lignin traits in crops with economic significance.
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