Title:
Improving Wheat Straw Composition and Digestibility By Alien Introgression
Author(s):
Moirangthem, K., Waldron, P., Tucker, G., King, I., King, J.
Document(s):
Paper
Poster
Abstract:
Using wheat straw for biorefinery purposes not only circumnavigate the food vs fuel debate, but also use the biggest potential feedstock for second generation biofuel in Europe. Challenges in using straw to make liquid fuels include disruption and hydrolysis of the lignocellulose matrix to release sugars. However, modern wheat breeding programs have focused mainly on agronomic traits and due to domestication, the genetic variation in modern wheat cultivars which could influence potential biofuel traits has been reduced. Introgression of genetic variation into wheat from its wild and related species could improve the wheat’s genetic variation. TheseBack crosses (BC1s) are being exploited to develop high yielding wheat varieties adapted to climate change, and possessing straw suitable for an economical biorefinery.The straw from a subset of BC1s (128) from 2 different seasons were assessed for sugar content and hydrolysis efficiency. Plants showed wide compositional and structural differences, reflecting a high degree of genetic diversity. The digestibility of the stem tissue was assessed following acid hydrothermal pretreatment and a significant variation was detected. Chemical and structural analyses are being carried out to correlate with the digestibility data in an attempt to identify the reasons for their improved processing ability.
Keywords:
agricultural residues, biodegradability, bioenergy, lignocellulose, pretreatment, wheat straw
Topic:
Biomass Resources
Subtopic:
Biomass crops and energy grasses
Event:
24th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition
Session:
1DV.1.25
Pages:
330 - 334
ISBN:
978-88-89407-165
Paper DOI:
10.5071/24thEUBCE2016-1DV.1.25
Price:
FREE
