Journal
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
Volume 12, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
FRONTIERS MEDIA SA
DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.704697
Keywords
lignin biosynthesis; tracheophytes; transcription factor; EPSP synthase; phylogenetic occurrence; lignin utilization
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Funding
- Center for Bioenergy Innovation by the Office of Biological and Environmental Research in the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science
- U.S. Department of Energy [DE-AC05-00OR22725]
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This review summarizes recent progress in defining the lignin biosynthetic pathway in land plants, including the functions of key structural genes and transcription factors across plant taxa, as well as the evolutionary processes and potential applications of lignin biosynthesis.
The phenylpropanoid pathway serves as a rich source of metabolites in plants and provides precursors for lignin biosynthesis. Lignin first appeared in tracheophytes and has been hypothesized to have played pivotal roles in land plant colonization. In this review, we summarize recent progress in defining the lignin biosynthetic pathway in lycophytes, monilophytes, gymnosperms, and angiosperms. In particular, we review the key structural genes involved in p-hydroxyphenyl-, guaiacyl-, and syringyl-lignin biosynthesis across plant taxa and consider and integrate new insights on major transcription factors, such as NACs and MYBs. We also review insight regarding a new transcriptional regulator, 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate (EPSP) synthase, canonically identified as a key enzyme in the shikimate pathway. We use several case studies, including EPSP synthase, to illustrate the evolution processes of gene duplication and neo-functionalization in lignin biosynthesis. This review provides new insights into the genetic engineering of the lignin biosynthetic pathway to overcome biomass recalcitrance in bioenergy crops.
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