Towards redesigning cellulose biosynthesis for improved bioenergy feedstocks

Abstract

With an estimated 200 billion tons produced annually, cellulose is the most abundant biopolymer on earth. Cellulose is expected to be the principal feedstock for liquid biofuels and bio-based products, but its para-crystalline nature results in recalcitrance to deconstruction required for biological and chemical conversion to useful products. Recent work solving the 3D structure of a bacterial cellulose synthase, modeling of plant cellulose synthases, and the 3D contour structure of the catalytic domain of a plant cellulose synthase have contributed new perspectives on the organization of catalytic units in the rosette complex. These discoveries stimulate new approaches to engineer the complex to make altered forms of cellulose for enhancing efficiency of biomass deconstruction forbiofuel production or for synthesis of new materials and nanoproducts.