Impact of CAD-deficiency in flax on biogas production

• DOI: 10.1007/s11248-015-9894-4
• Publication Date: 2015-07-15T00:51:10Z
• Authors: Magdalena Wróbel-...; Sławomir Jabłoński; Jakub Szperlik; Lucyna Dymińska; Marcin Łukaszewicz; Waldemar Rymowicz; Jerzy Hanuza; Jan Szopa
• Keywords: 2. Zero hunger; Original Paper; 0303 health sciences; Plants, Genetically Modified; Lignin; 7. Clean energy; Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; 12. Responsible consumption; Alcohol Oxidoreductases; 03 medical and health sciences; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; 13. Climate action; Biofuels; Flax; Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; Genetics; Pectins; Animal Science and Zoology; Cellulose; Agronomy and Crop Science; Biotechnology

Global warming and the reduction in our fossil fuel reservoir have forced humanity to look for new means of energy production. Agricultural waste remains a large source for biofuel and bioenergy production. Flax shives are a waste product obtained during the processing of flax fibers. We investigated the possibility of using low-lignin flax shives for biogas production, specifically by assessing the impact of CAD deficiency on the biochemical and structural properties of shives. The study used genetically modified flax plants with a silenced CAD gene, which encodes the key enzyme for lignin synthesis. Reducing the lignin content modified cellulose crystallinity, improved flax shive fermentation and optimized biogas production. Chemical pretreatment of the shive biomass further increased biogas production efficiency.