Difference of saccharification yields between organs and growth stages in rice

Saccharification is a key step in the efficient production of biofuels and biomaterials from cellulosic biomass. We examined saccharification yields from leaf blades, leaf sheaths and stems at several growth stages in rice. We found that saccharification yields were high before heading and reduced after heading in all three organs examined. Stems showed highest saccharification yields at all growth stages examined, and leaf blades showed lowest saccharification yields. Differences of saccharification yields between rice cultivars were also observed. Our results indicate that saccharification yields are different between rice organs. This suggests that the proportion of organs is one of the determinants of saccharification yields of rice straws, and thus it will be a breeding target for biofuel and biomaterial crops with high saccharification yields. Our results also suggest that the harvesting stage is critical for high saccharification yields.