We are grateful to Matthew Robert Weatherhead for excellent technical service and John Ralph, University of Wisconsin for valuable advice, discussions, and the poplar wood sample. This work was funded by the US Department of Energy (DOE) Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (DOE BER Office of Science DE-FC02-07ER64494) and by the Chemical Sciences, Geosciences and Biosciences Division, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Office of Science, U.S. Department of Energy (award no. DE-FG02-91ER20021).

1. Cell Wall Isolation
<ol>
	<li>Grind roughly 60-70mg of air- or freeze-dried plant material with 5.5 mm stainless steel balls in a 2 ml Sarstedt screw cap tube using an iWall, a grinding and dispensing robot (30 s). An alternative non-robotic low-throughput procedure using a ball-mill (retschmill) is presented in Part II2.</li>
	<li>Add 1.5 ml of 70% aqueous ethanol to the dispensed ground material, and vortex thoroughly.</li>
	<li>Centrifuge at 10,000 rpm for 10 min to pellet the alcohol insoluble residue.</li>
	<li>Aspirate or decant the supernatant. </li>
	<li>Add 1.5 ml of chloroform/methanol (1:1 v/v) solution to the residue and shake tube thoroughly to resuspend the pellet.</li>
	<li>Centrifuge at 10,000 rpm for 10 min and aspirate or decant the supernatant.</li>
	<li>Resuspend pellet in 500 &mu;l of acetone. </li>
	<li>Evaporate the solvent with a stream of air at 35&deg;C until dry. 
 If needed dried samples can be stored at room-temperature until further processing.</li>
	<li>To initiate the removal of starch from the sample resuspend the pellet in 1.5 ml of a 0.1 M sodium acetate buffer pH 5.0.</li>
	<li>Cap the Sarstedt tubes and heat for 20 min. at 80&deg;C in a heating block.</li>
	<li>Cool the suspension on ice.</li>
	<li>Add the following agents to the pellet: 35 &mu;l of 0.01% sodium azide (NaN3), 35 &mu;l amylase (50 &mu;g/mL H2O; from Bacillus species, Sigma); 17 &mu;l pullulanase (17.8 units from Bacillus acidopullulyticus; Sigma). Cap the tube and vortex thoroughly. </li>
	<li>The suspension is incubated over night at 37&deg;C in the shaker. Orienting the tubes horizontally aides improved mixing. </li>
	<li>Heat suspension at 100&deg;C for 10 min in a heating block to terminate digestion.</li>
	<li>Centrifuge (10,000 rpm, 10 min) and discard supernatant containing solubilized starch.</li>
	<li>Wash the remaining pellet three times by adding 1.5 ml water, vortexing, centrifuging, and decanting of the washing water.</li>
	<li>Resuspend pellet in 500 &mu;l of acetone. </li>
	<li>Evaporate the solvent with a stream of air at 35&deg;C until dry. It may be necessary also to break up the material in the tube with a spatula for better drying. The dried material presents isolated cell wall (lignocellulosics). If needed dried samples can be stored at room-temperature until further processing.</li>
</ol>
2. Lignin Content
This method is based on a reported method by Fukushima and Hatfield 3.
<ol>
	<li>Weigh 1 - 1.5 mg of prepared cell wall material (see 1) into 2 ml volumetric flask leaving one tube empty for a blank.</li>
	<li>rinse tube walls with 250 &mu;l of acetone to collect the cell wall material on the bottom of the tube, and evaporate the acetone very gentle under airflow. </li>
	<li>Gently add 100 &mu;l of freshly made acetyl bromide solution (25% v/v acetyl bromide in glacial acetic acid) along the tube walls to prevent splashing.</li>
	<li>Cap volumetric flask and heat at 50&deg;C for 2hrs</li>
	<li>Heat for an additional hour with vortexing every 15 minutes. </li>
	<li>Cool on ice to room temperature.</li>
	<li>Add 400 &mu;l of 2M sodium hydroxide and 70 &mu;l of freshly prepared 0.5 M hydroxylamine hydrochloride. Vortex volumetric flasks.</li>
	<li>Fill up volumetric flask exactly to the 2.0 ml mark with glacial acetic acid, cap and invert several times to mix.</li>
	<li>Pipette 200 &mu;l of the solution into a UV specific 96 well plate and read in an ELISA reader at 280nm.</li>
	<li>Determine the percentage of acetyl bromide soluble lignin (%ABSL) using an appropriate coefficient (Poplar = 18.21; Grasses = 17.75; Arabidopsis = 15.69) with the following formula: 
 % ABSL Calc:<img src="/files/ftp_upload/1745/1745eq.jpg" alt="Figure 1" /> 
 Multiplication of %ABSL with 10 results in the ug/mg cell wall unit 
 It helps to do at least 3 plate reads to average the absorbance (abs) since particulates can cause a slight variation in absorbance values. Note: 0.539 cm represents the pathlength, but depending on the plate this might need to be determined.</li>
</ol>
3. Lignin Composition
This method is adopted from a recent method published by Robinson and Mansfield5.
<ol>
 <li>Transfer approximately 2 mg of cell wall material (see 1.) into a screw capped glass tube for thioacidolysis.</li>
	<li>carefully prepare the 2.5% boron trifluoride diethyl etherate (BF3), 10% ethanethiol (EtSH) solution. You must use a balloon filled with nitrogen gas to displace the lost volume in the dioxane bottle with nitrogen. Dioxane is very hazardous, do not take samples or equipment out of the hood. Volumes needed for the preparation of the solution per sample: 175 &mu;l dioxane; 20 &mu;l EtSH; 5 &mu;l BF3.</li>
	<li>Add 200 &mu;l of EtSH, BF3, dioxane solution to each sample.</li>
	<li>Purge vial headspace with nitrogen gas and cap immediately.</li>
	<li>Heat at 100&deg;C for 4 hours with gentle mixing every hour.</li>
	<li>End reaction by cooling on ice for 5 minutes.</li>
	<li>Add 150 &mu;l of 0.4M sodium bicarbonate, vortex</li>
	<li>For the clean-up add 1 ml of water and 0.5 ml of ethyl acetate, vortex and let phases separate (ethyl acetate on top, water on bottom).</li>
	<li>Transfer 150 &mu;l of the ethyl acetate layer into a 2 ml Sarstedt tube. Make sure no water is transferred.</li>
	<li>Evaporate solvent by a concentrator with air.</li>
	<li>Add 200 &mu;l acetone and evaporate (repeat for a total of two times remove excess water).</li>
	<li>For the TMS derivatization add 500 &mu;l of ethyl acetate, 20 &mu;l of pyridine, and 100 &mu;l of N,O-bis(trimethylsilyl) acetamide to each tube.</li>
	<li>incubate for 2 hours at 25&deg;C. </li>
	<li>Transfer 100 &mu;l of the reaction into a GC/MS vial and add 100 &mu;l of acetone.</li>
	<li>Analyze the samples by GC equipped with a quadrupole mass-spectrometer or flame ionization detector. An Agilent HP-5MS column is installed (30 mm X 0.25 mm X 0.25 &mu;m film thickness). The following temperature gradient is used with a 30 min solvent delay and a 1.1 ml/ min flow rate: Initial hold at 130 &deg;C for 3 min; a 3 &deg;C/ min ramp to a 250 &deg;C and hold for 1 min; allow equilibration to the initial temperature of 130 &deg;C.</li>
	<li>Peaks are identified by relative retention times using tetracosane internal standard (optional) or by characteristic mass spectrum ions of 299 m/z, 269 m/z, and 239 m/z for S, G, and H monomers, respectively (see Fig. 2). The composition of the lignin components is quantified by setting the total peak area to 100%</li>
</ol>
4. Representative Results
An example of a wall analysis is presented in Figure 2. In this case poplar stem (wood) was analyzed by the various procedures outlined in the protocol section. An example chromatogram of the separation of lignin-components after thioacidolysis and TMS-derivatization is shown. Clearly, the relative abundance of syringyl- (S), guaiacyl- (G), and p-hydroxyphenol- (H) units can be determined. The content of acetyl bromide soluble lignin is self-explanatory, one can expect values of between 20-50% of the wall dry weight. One should note that acetyl bromide does not solubilize all of the lignin present in the wall, and that the degree of solubilization can vary depending on the material. However, this method is relatively easy to carry out and rapid and gives an excellent approximation of the lignin content in a lignocellulosic material.
<img src="/files/ftp_upload/1745/1745fig1.jpg" alt="Figure 1" /> Figure 1: Overview of lignocellulosic analysis. Cell walls (lignocellulosics) are isolated from crude dried plant material. The wall material is then weighted into aliquots and subdivided for the various assays. Wall material is treated with acetyl bromide and the solubilized lignin quantified by UV-spectroscopy. For the determination of the lignin composition, wall material is subjected to thioacidolysis. The solubilized phenolics undergo TMS derivatization and can then be separated and quantified by GC-MS analysis. The matrix polysaccharide composition and crystalline cellulose content protocol is discussed in Part II2.
<img src="/files/ftp_upload/1745/1745fig2.jpg" alt="Figure 2" /> Figure 2: Comprehensive lignocellulosic analysis of poplar wood. Wood chips from poplar (Populus tremoloides) were subjected to the described protocols. Ligin composition; H p-hydroxyphenyl ;G guaiacyl; S syringyl units.

<ol>
	<li>Carroll, A., Somerville, C. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Cellulosic+Biofuels.">Cellulosic Biofuels.</a> Annual Review of Plant Biology. 60, 165-165 (2009).</li><li>Foster, C. E., Martin, T., Pauly, M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Comprehensive+compositional+analysis+of+Plant+Cell+Walls+(Lignocellulosic+biomass),+Part+II:+Carbohydrates.">Comprehensive compositional analysis of Plant Cell Walls (Lignocellulosic biomass), Part II: Carbohydrates.</a> J Vis Exp. , (2010).</li><li>Fukushima, R. S., Hatfield, R. D. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Extraction+and+isolation+of+lignin+for+utilization+as+a+standard+to+determine+lignin+concentration+using+the+acetyl+bromide+spectrophotometric+method.">Extraction and isolation of lignin for utilization as a standard to determine lignin concentration using the acetyl bromide spectrophotometric method.</a> J. Agric. Food Chem. 49 (7), 3133-3133 (2001).</li><li>Pauly, M., Keegstra, K. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Cell-wall+carbohydrates+and+their+modification+as+a+resource+for+biofuels.">Cell-wall carbohydrates and their modification as a resource for biofuels.</a> Plant J. 54 (4), 559-559 (2008).</li><li>Robinson, A. R., Mansfield, S. D. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Rapid+analysis+of+poplar+lignin+monomer+composition+by+a+streamlined+thioacidolysis+procedure+and+near-infrared+reflectance-based+prediction+modeling.">Rapid analysis of poplar lignin monomer composition by a streamlined thioacidolysis procedure and near-infrared reflectance-based prediction modeling.</a> Plant J. 58 (4), 706-706 (2009).</li><li>Somerville, C. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Toward+a+systems+approach+to+understanding+plant-cell+walls.">Toward a systems approach to understanding plant-cell walls.</a> Science. 306 (5705), 2206-2206 (2004).</li><li>Teeri, T. T., Brumer, H. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Discovery,+characterization+and+applications+of+enzymes+from+the+wood-forming+tissues+of+poplar:+Glycosyl+transferases+and+xyloglucan+endo-transglycosylases.">Discovery, characterization and applications of enzymes from the wood-forming tissues of poplar: Glycosyl transferases and xyloglucan endo-transglycosylases.</a> Biocatalysis and Biotransformation. 21, 173-173 (2003).</li></ol>

The described methods enable a rapid quantitative assessment of the lignin content and composition of lignocellulosic plant biomass. Using the iWall robot approximately 350 samples can be ground and dispensed per day. The throughput of the various analytical methods per person varies. Using the protocols described here, 30 samples can be processed for lignin content, and 15 for lignin composition per day. Due to the quantitative nature of the data optimal feedstock crops, variety or genotypes can be assessed in terms of their suitability for biofuel production.

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		<div>
		<table border="1">
		<thead>
		<tr>
		<th>Material Name</th>
		<th>Type</th>
		<th>Company</th>
		<th>Catalogue Number</th>
		<th>Comment</th>
		</tr>
		</thead>
		<tbody>
		
<tr>
<td>Hydroxylamine Hydrochloride</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
<td>255580</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>Acetyl Bromide</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Aldrich</td>
<td>135968</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>Ethanethiol</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
<td>E3708</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>Borontrifluoride diethyl etherate</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Fluka</td>
<td>15719</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>N,O,-Bis(trimethylsilyl) acetimide</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Fluka</td>
<td>15241</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>Dioxane</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
<td>296309</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>Spectromax Plus 384</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Molecular Devices</td>
<td>Plus384</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>GC-MS</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Agilent</td>
<td>6890 GC/5975B MSD</td>
<td>(lignin composition)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>5.5mm Stainless Steel Balls</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Salem Ball Company</td>
<td>(N/A)</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>96 well plate heat spreader</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Biocision</td>
<td>Coolsink 96F</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>Heating block</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Techne</td>
<td>Dri-block DB-3D</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>Sample concentrator</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Techne</td>
<td>FSC400D</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>		</tbody>
		</table>
		</div>

comprehensive compositional analysis of plant cell walls (lignocellulosic biomass) part i: lignin

The need for renewable, carbon neutral, and sustainable raw materials for industry and society has become one of the most pressing issues for the 21st century. This has rekindled interest in the use of plant products as industrial raw materials for the production of liquid fuels for transportation1 and other products such as biocomposite materials7. Plant biomass remains one of the greatest untapped reserves on the planet4. It is mostly comprised of cell walls that are composed of energy rich polymers including cellulose, various hemicelluloses (matrix polysaccharides, and the polyphenol lignin6 and thus sometimes termed lignocellulosics. However, plant cell walls have evolved to be recalcitrant to degradation as walls provide tensile strength to cells and the entire plants, ward off pathogens, and allow water to be transported throughout the plant; in the case of trees up to more the 100 m above ground level. Due to the various functions of walls, there is an immense structural diversity within the walls of different plant species and cell types within a single plant4. Hence, depending of what crop species, crop variety, or plant tissue is used for a biorefinery, the processing steps for depolymerization by chemical/enzymatic processes and subsequent fermentation of the various sugars to liquid biofuels need to be adjusted and optimized. This fact underpins the need for a thorough characterization of plant biomass feedstocks. Here we describe a comprehensive analytical methodology that enables the determination of the composition of lignocellulosics and is amenable to a medium to high-throughput analysis. In this first part we focus on the analysis of the polyphenol lignin (Figure 1). The method starts of with preparing destarched cell wall material. The resulting lignocellulosics are then split up to determine its lignin content by acetylbromide solubilization3, and its lignin composition in terms of its syringyl, guaiacyl- and p-hydroxyphenyl units5. The protocol for analyzing the carbohydrates in lignocellulosic biomass including cellulose content and matrix polysaccharide composition is discussed in Part II2.

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Comprehensive Compositional Analysis of Plant Cell Walls Lignocellulosic biomass Part I: Lignin at JoVE.com

Comprehensive Compositional Analysis of Plant Cell Walls Lignocellulosic biomass Part I: Lignin

Plant biomass is a major carbon-neutral renewable resource that could be used for the production of biofuels. Plant biomass consists mainly of cell walls, a structurally complex composite material termed lignocellulosics. Here we describe a protocol for a comprehensive analysis of the content and composition of the polyphenolic lignin.

Comprehensive Compositional Analysis of Plant Cell Walls (Lignocellulosic biomass) Part I: Lignin

The need for renewable, carbon neutral, and sustainable raw materials for industry and society has become one of the most pressing issues for the 21st ...

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32.0K Views.  Michigan State University (MSU). Plant biomass is a major carbon-neutral renewable resource that could be used for the production of biofuels. Plant biomass consists mainly of cell walls, a structurally complex composite material termed lignocellulosics. Here we describe a protocol for a comprehensive analysis of the content and composition of the polyphenolic lignin.

Video: Comprehensive Compositional Analysis of Plant Cell Walls Lignocellulosic biomass Part I: Lignin

Human Pancreatic Islet Isolation: Part I: Digestion and Collection of Pancreatic Tissue

Management of Type 1 diabetes is burdensome, both to the individual and society, costing over 100 billion dollars annually. Despite the widespread use of glucose monitoring and new insulin formulations, many individuals still develop devastating secondary complications. Pancreatic islet transplantation can restore near normal glucose control in diabetic patients 1, without the risk of serious hypoglycemic episodes that are associated with intensive insulin therapy. Providing sufficient islet mass is important for successful islet transplantation. However, donor characteristic, organ procurement and preservation affect the isolation outcome 2. At University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) we have developed a successful isolation protocol with an improved purification gradient 3. The program started in January 2004, and more than 300 isolations were performed up to November 2008. The pancreata were sent in cold preservation solutions (UW, University of Wisconsin or HTK, Histidine-Tryptophan Ketoglutarate) 4-7 to the Cell Isolation Laboratory at UIC for islet isolation. Pancreatic islets were isolated using the UIC method, which is a modified version of the method originally described by Ricordi et al 8. Briefly, after cleaning the pancreas from the surrounding tissue, it was perfused with enzyme solution (Serva Collagenase + Neutral Protease or Sigma V enzyme). The distended pancreas was then transferred to the Ricordi digestion chamber, connected to a modified, closed circulation tubing system, and warmed up to 37&deg;C. During the digestion, the chamber was shaken gently. Samples were taken continuously to monitor the digestion progress. Once free islets were detected under the microscope, the digestion was stopped by flushing cold (4&deg;C) RPMI dilution solution (Mediatech, Herndon, VA) into the circulation system to dilute the enzyme. After being collected and washed in M199 media supplemented with human albumin, the tissue was sampled for pre-purification count and incubated with UW solution before purification. Purification process will be described in Part II: Purification and Culture of Human Islets.

Achieving high quality and appropriate quantity of human islets is one of the prominent prerequisites for successful islet transplantation. In this video, we describe step by step the procedures for human pancreatic islet isolation (part I: digestion and collection of pancreatic tissue) using a modified automated method.

Management of Type 1 diabetes is burdensome, both to the individual and society, costing over 100 billion dollars annually. Despite the widespread use of ...

Vaccinia Virus Infection &amp; Temporal Analysis of Virus Gene Expression: Part 1

The family Poxviridae consists of large double-stranded DNA containing viruses that replicate exclusively in the cytoplasm of infected cells. Members of the orthopox genus include variola, the causative agent of human small pox, monkeypox, and vaccinia (VAC), the prototypic member of the virus family. Within the relatively large (~ 200 kb) vaccinia genome, three classes of genes are encoded: early, intermediate, and late. While all three classes are transcribed by virally-encoded RNA polymerases, each class serves a different function in the life cycle of the virus. Poxviruses utilize multiple strategies for modulation of the host cellular environment during infection. In order to understand regulation of both host and virus gene expression, we have utilized genome-wide approaches to analyze transcript abundance from both virus and host cells. Here, we demonstrate time course infections of HeLa cells with Vaccinia virus and sampling RNA at several time points post-infection. Both host and viral total RNA is isolated and amplified for hybridization to microarrays for analysis of gene expression.

Protocol for Vaccinia infection of HeLa cells and analysis of host and viral gene expression. Part 1 of 3.

The family Poxviridae consists of large double-stranded DNA containing viruses that replicate exclusively in the cytoplasm of infected cells.  Members of ...

Vaccinia Virus Infection &amp; Temporal Analysis of Virus Gene Expression: Part 2

The family Poxviridae consists of large double-stranded DNA containing viruses that replicate exclusively in the cytoplasm of infected cells. Members of the orthopox genus include variola, the causative agent of human small pox, monkeypox, and vaccinia (VAC), the prototypic member of the virus family. Within the relatively large (~ 200 kb) vaccinia genome, three classes of genes are encoded: early, intermediate, and late. While all three classes are transcribed by virally-encoded RNA polymerases, each class serves a different function in the life cycle of the virus. Poxviruses utilize multiple strategies for modulation of the host cellular environment during infection. In order to understand regulation of both host and virus gene expression, we have utilized genome-wide approaches to analyze transcript abundance from both virus and host cells. Here, we demonstrate time course infections of HeLa cells with Vaccinia virus and sampling RNA at several time points post-infection. Both host and viral total RNA is isolated and amplified for hybridization to microarrays for analysis of gene expression.

Protocol for Vaccinia infection of HeLa cells and analysis of host and viral gene expression. Part 2 of 3.

Vaccinia Virus Infection &amp; Temporal Analysis of Virus Gene Expression: Part 3

Protocol for Vaccinia infection of HeLa cells and analysis of host and viral gene expression. Part 3 describes the process of fluorescently labeling the amplified RNA from both host and viral samples by amino allyl coupling of dyes. Part 3 of 3.

Comprehensive Compositional Analysis of Plant Cell Walls (Lignocellulosic biomass) Part II: Carbohydrates

The need for renewable, carbon neutral, and sustainable raw materials for industry and society has become one of the most pressing issues for the 21st century. This has rekindled interest in the use of plant products as industrial raw materials for the production of liquid fuels for transportation2 and other products such as biocomposite materials6. Plant biomass remains one of the greatest untapped reserves on the planet4. It is mostly comprised of cell walls that are composed of energy rich polymers including cellulose, various hemicelluloses, and the polyphenol lignin5 and thus sometimes termed lignocellulosics. However, plant cell walls have evolved to be recalcitrant to degradation as walls contribute extensively to the strength and structural integrity of the entire plant. Despite its necessary rigidity, the cell wall is a highly dynamic entity that is metabolically active and plays crucial roles in numerous cell activities such as plant growth and differentiation5. Due to the various functions of walls, there is an immense structural diversity within the walls of different plant species and cell types within a single plant4. Hence, depending of what crop species, crop variety, or plant tissue is used for a biorefinery, the processing steps for depolymerisation by chemical/enzymatic processes and subsequent fermentation of the various sugars to liquid biofuels need to be adjusted and optimized. This fact underpins the need for a thorough characterization of plant biomass feedstocks. Here we describe a comprehensive analytical methodology that enables the determination of the composition of lignocellulosics and is amenable to a medium to high-throughput analysis (Figure 1). The method starts of with preparing destarched cell wall material. The resulting lignocellulosics are then split up to determine its monosaccharide composition of the hemicelluloses and other matrix polysaccharides1, and its content of crystalline cellulose7. The protocol for analyzing the lignin components in lignocellulosic biomass is discussed in Part I3.

Comprehensive Compositional Analysis of Plant Cell Walls Lignocellulosic biomass Part II: Carbohydrates

Plant biomass is a major carbon-neutral renewable resource that could be used for the production of biofuels. Plant biomass consists mainly of cell walls, a structurally complex composite material termed lignocellulosics. Here we describe a protocol for a comprehensive analysis of the content and composition of wall derived carbohydrates.

Label-free in situ Imaging of Lignification in Plant Cell Walls

Meeting growing energy demands safely and efficiently is a pressing global challenge. Therefore, research into biofuels production that seeks to find cost-effective and sustainable solutions has become a topical and critical task. Lignocellulosic biomass is poised to become the primary source of biomass for the conversion to liquid biofuels1-6. However, the recalcitrance of these plant cell wall materials to cost-effective and efficient degradation presents a major impediment for their use in the production of biofuels and chemicals4. In particular, lignin, a complex and irregular poly-phenylpropanoid heteropolymer, becomes problematic to the postharvest deconstruction of lignocellulosic biomass. For example in biomass conversion for biofuels, it inhibits saccharification in processes aimed at producing simple sugars for fermentation7. The effective use of plant biomass for industrial purposes is in fact largely dependent on the extent to which the plant cell wall is lignified. The removal of lignin is a costly and limiting factor8 and lignin has therefore become a key plant breeding and genetic engineering target in order to improve cell wall conversion.
Analytical tools that permit the accurate rapid characterization of lignification of plant cell walls become increasingly important for evaluating a large number of breeding populations. Extractive procedures for the isolation of native components such as lignin are inevitably destructive, bringing about significant chemical and structural modifications9-11. Analytical chemical in situ methods are thus invaluable tools for the compositional and structural characterization of lignocellulosic materials. Raman microscopy is a technique that relies on inelastic or Raman scattering of monochromatic light, like that from a laser, where the shift in energy of the laser photons is related to molecular vibrations and presents an intrinsic label-free molecular "fingerprint" of the sample. Raman microscopy can afford non-destructive and comparatively inexpensive measurements with minimal sample preparation, giving insights into chemical composition and molecular structure in a close to native state. Chemical imaging by confocal Raman microscopy has been previously used for the visualization of the spatial distribution of cellulose and lignin in wood cell walls12-14. Based on these earlier results, we have recently adopted this method to compare lignification in wild type and lignin-deficient transgenic Populus trichocarpa (black cottonwood) stem wood15. Analyzing the lignin Raman bands16,17 in the spectral region between 1,600 and 1,700 cm-1, lignin signal intensity and localization were mapped in situ. Our approach visualized differences in lignin content, localization, and chemical composition. Most recently, we demonstrated Raman imaging of cell wall polymers in Arabidopsis thaliana with lateral resolution that is sub-&mu;m18. Here, this method is presented affording visualization of lignin in plant cell walls and comparison of lignification in different tissues, samples or species without staining or labeling of the tissues.

Label-free in situ Imaging of Lignification in Plant Cell Walls

A method based on confocal Raman microscopy is presented that affords label-free visualization of lignin in plant cell walls and comparison of lignification in different tissues, samples or species.

Meeting growing energy demands safely and efficiently is a pressing global challenge. Therefore, research into biofuels production that seeks to find ...

Glycan Profiling of Plant Cell Wall Polymers using Microarrays

Plant cell walls are complex matrixes of heterogeneous glycans which play an important role in the physiology and development of plants and provide the raw materials for human societies (e.g. wood, paper, textile and biofuel industries)1,2. However, understanding the biosynthesis and function of these components remains challenging.
Cell wall glycans are chemically and conformationally diverse due to the complexity of their building blocks, the glycosyl residues. These form linkages at multiple positions and differ in ring structure, isomeric or anomeric configuration, and in addition, are substituted with an array of non-sugar residues. Glycan composition varies in different cell and/or tissue types or even sub-domains of a single cell wall3. Furthermore, their composition is also modified during development1, or in response to environmental cues4.
In excess of 2,000 genes have Plant cell walls are complex matrixes of heterogeneous glycans been predicted to be involved in cell wall glycan biosynthesis and modification in Arabidopsis5. However, relatively few of the biosynthetic genes have been functionally characterized 4,5. Reverse genetics approaches are difficult because the genes are often differentially expressed, often at low levels, between cell types6. Also, mutant studies are often hindered by gene redundancy or compensatory mechanisms to ensure appropriate cell wall function is maintained7. Thus novel approaches are needed to rapidly characterise the diverse range of glycan structures and to facilitate functional genomics approaches to understanding cell wall biosynthesis and modification.
Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs)8,9 have emerged as an important tool for determining glycan structure and distribution in plants. These recognise distinct epitopes present within major classes of plant cell wall glycans, including pectins, xyloglucans, xylans, mannans, glucans and arabinogalactans. Recently their use has been extended to large-scale screening experiments to determine the relative abundance of glycans in a broad range of plant and tissue types simultaneously9,10,11.
Here we present a microarray-based glycan screening method called Comprehensive Microarray Polymer Profiling (CoMPP) (Figures 1 &amp; 2)10,11 that enables multiple samples (100 sec) to be screened using a miniaturised microarray platform with reduced reagent and sample volumes. The spot signals on the microarray can be formally quantified to give semi-quantitative data about glycan epitope occurrence. This approach is well suited to tracking glycan changes in complex biological systems12 and providing a global overview of cell wall composition particularly when prior knowledge of this is unavailable.

A technique called Comprehensive Microarray Polymer Profiling (CoMPP) for the characterisation of plant cell wall glycans is described. This method combines the specificity of monoclonal antibodies directed to defined glycan-epitopes with a miniature microarray analytical platform allowing screening of glycan occurrence in a broad range of biological contexts.

Plant cell walls are complex matrixes of heterogeneous glycans which play an important role in the physiology and development of plants and provide the ...

Metabolic Labeling and Membrane Fractionation for Comparative Proteomic Analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana Suspension Cell Cultures

Plasma membrane microdomains are features based on the physical properties of the lipid and sterol environment and have particular roles in signaling processes. Extracting sterol-enriched membrane microdomains from plant cells for proteomic analysis is a difficult task mainly due to multiple preparation steps and sources for contaminations from other cellular compartments. The plasma membrane constitutes only about 5-20% of all the membranes in a plant cell, and therefore isolation of highly purified plasma membrane fraction is challenging. A frequently used method involves aqueous two-phase partitioning in polyethylene glycol and dextran, which yields plasma membrane vesicles with a purity of 95% 1. Sterol-rich membrane microdomains within the plasma membrane are insoluble upon treatment with cold nonionic detergents at alkaline pH. This detergent-resistant membrane fraction can be separated from the bulk plasma membrane by ultracentrifugation in a sucrose gradient 2. Subsequently, proteins can be extracted from the low density band of the sucrose gradient by methanol/chloroform precipitation. Extracted protein will then be trypsin digested, desalted and finally analyzed by LC-MS/MS. Our extraction protocol for sterol-rich microdomains is optimized for the preparation of clean detergent-resistant membrane fractions from Arabidopsis thaliana cell cultures.
We use full metabolic labeling of Arabidopsis thaliana suspension cell cultures with K15NO3 as the only nitrogen source for quantitative comparative proteomic studies following biological treatment of interest 3. By mixing equal ratios of labeled and unlabeled cell cultures for joint protein extraction the influence of preparation steps on final quantitative result is kept at a minimum. Also loss of material during extraction will affect both control and treatment samples in the same way, and therefore the ratio of light and heave peptide will remain constant. In the proposed method either labeled or unlabeled cell culture undergoes a biological treatment, while the other serves as control 4.

Metabolic Labeling and Membrane Fractionation for Comparative Proteomic Analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana Suspension Cell Cultures

Here we describe a robust method for the fractionation of plant plasma membranes into detergent resistant and detergent soluble membranes based on a mixture of unlabeled and in vivo fully 15N labeled Arabidopsis thaliana cell cultures. The procedure is applied for comparative proteomic studies to understand signaling processes.

Plasma membrane microdomains are features based on the physical properties of the lipid and sterol environment and have particular roles in signaling ...

An Efficient Method for Quantitative, Single-cell Analysis of Chromatin Modification and Nuclear Architecture in Whole-mount Ovules in Arabidopsis

In flowering plants, the somatic-to-reproductive cell fate transition is marked by the specification of spore mother cells (SMCs) in floral organs of the adult plant. The female SMC (megaspore mother cell, MMC) differentiates in the ovule primordium and undergoes meiosis. The selected haploid megaspore then undergoes mitosis to form the multicellular female gametophyte, which will give rise to the gametes, the egg cell and central cell, together with accessory cells. The limited accessibility of the MMC, meiocyte and female gametophyte inside the ovule is technically challenging for cytological and cytogenetic analyses at single cell level. Particularly, direct or indirect immunodetection of cellular or nuclear epitopes is impaired by poor penetration of the reagents inside the plant cell and single-cell imaging is demised by the lack of optical clarity in whole-mount tissues.
Thus, we developed an efficient method to analyze the nuclear organization and chromatin modification at high resolution of single cell in whole-mount embedded Arabidopsis ovules. It is based on dissection and embedding of fixed ovules in a thin layer of acrylamide gel on a microscopic slide. The embedded ovules are subjected to chemical and enzymatic treatments aiming at improving tissue clarity and permeability to the immunostaining reagents. Those treatments preserve cellular and chromatin organization, DNA and protein epitopes. The samples can be used for different downstream cytological analyses, including chromatin immunostaining, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), and DNA staining for heterochromatin analysis. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) imaging, with high resolution, followed by 3D reconstruction allows for quantitative measurements at single-cell resolution.

An Efficient Method for Quantitative, Single-cell Analysis of Chromatin Modification and Nuclear Architecture in Whole-mount Ovules in Arabidopsis

We provide here an efficient and reliable protocol for immunostaining, Fluorescence in&#160;situ Hybridization, DNA staining followed by quantitative, high-resolution imaging in whole-mount Arabidopsis thaliana ovules. This method was successfully used to analyze chromatin modifications and nuclear architecture.

In flowering plants, the somatic-to-reproductive cell fate transition is marked by the specification of spore mother cells (SMCs) in floral organs of the ...

Isolation and Compositional Analysis of Plant Cuticle Lipid Polyester Monomers

Terrestrial plants produce extracellular aliphatic biopolyesters that modify cell walls of specific tissues. Epidermal cells synthesize cutin, a polyester of glycerol and modified fatty acids that constitutes the framework of the cuticle that covers aerial plant surfaces. Suberin is a related lipid polyester that is deposited on the cell walls of certain tissues, including the root endodermis and the periderm of tubers, tree bark and roots. These lipid polymers are highly variable in composition among plant species, and often differ among tissues within a single species. Here, we describe a detailed protocol to study the monomer composition of cutin in Arabidopsis thaliana leaves by sodium methoxide (NaOMe)-catalyzed depolymerisation, derivatization, and subsequent gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis. This method can be used to investigate the monomers of insoluble polyesters isolated from whole delipidated plant tissues bearing either cutin or suberin. The method can by applied not only to characterize the composition of lipid polymers in species not previously analyzed, but also as an analytical tool in forward and reverse genetic approaches to assess candidate gene function.

Lipid polyesters constitute the structural components of two cell wall modifications, the plant cuticle and suberin-containing diffusion barriers. In this video, we describe a method to depolymerize cutin from whole delipidated leaves. The method can be applied to investigating mutants compromised in either cutin or suberin biosynthesis.

Terrestrial plants produce extracellular aliphatic biopolyesters that modify cell walls of specific tissues. Epidermal cells synthesize cutin, a polyester ...