Lignin from Miscanthus, the Undemanding Giant

With its high yield biomass and its robustness towards adverse environmental conditions including poor soils, Miscanthus is a promising crop for bioeconomy. It has potential for bioenergy generation but its lignocellulosic biomass may also be used as resource for cellulose- and/or lignin-derived novel platform molecules. This minireview summarizes important features of Miscanthus relevant to its use in bioeconomy with emphasis on recent advances in understanding the regulation of lignin synthesis and composition. Important steps have been taken to develop molecular tools to better understand the underlying regulatory networks, including transcriptome and (partial) genome analysis. These new methodological tools allow the experimental verification of hypothesized reaction schemes and provide the basis for transgenic proof-of-concept approaches towards tailored lignocellulose composition. Likewise, these genomic tools are expected to give a further boost for molecular marker-assisted breeding strategies.
Proceedings of the 24th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 6-9 June 2016, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, pp. 316-324