Macromolecular structures, such as lignin and cellulose, are important components of soil organic carbon, the major terrestrial global carbon pool. The degradation of these macromolecules, including lignin and cellulose, in plant-derived soil organic matter, is important to the global carbon cycle. In grasslands, saprotrophic (decomposer) fungi are major decomposers of such organic material. Some of these compounds, such as lignin are relatively resistant to decay by the microbial community if compared with other compound classes such as cellulose. In this work we investigate the involvement of fungi in the decomposition of both lignin and cellulose and look to link the decomposition processes observed in the field to those observed in a laboratory-controlled environment. The key findings of this work are:- Field based experiments in both tropical and temperate environments indicated that lignin can be degraded completely, most likely by white-rot fungi, as shown by the shifts in the [Ac/Al]S, [Ac/Al]G and [S/G] relative lignin decomposition state proxies. The results confirm that even in a very low carbon environment, fungi are able to completely degrade lignin over time. However, lignin is degraded much faster in tropical environments. Culturing experiments showed that it was possible to isolate a number of fungi present on the degraded wheat straw collected in the field, especially soft-rot fungi. When used in microcosm experiments using a range of organic substrates, the relative lignin decomposition state proxies indicated that Absidia cylindrospora and Trichoderma koningii are not able to completely degrade lignin but preferentially degrade cellulose. Cellulose degradation rates are much higher than those of lignin in degraded field samples over time, confirming previous work.

<p>Lignocellulose is an ubiquitous source of fixed carbon that is presently underexploited for renewable energy technologies. Currently, producing enzyme cocktails that robustly degrade these feedstocks is a significant economic bottleneck. Anaerobic gut fungi native to the digestive tracts of ruminants and hindgut fermenters are widely understudied despite their inherent ability to degrade a significant portion (~50%) of the lignocellulose in herbivorous animals. Challenges in cultivation due to their strict oxygen sensitivity, and the lack of a central repository to maintain axenic stocks substantially impede the progress with anaerobic fungi. Yet, these microbes have evolved elegant strategies and may harbor novel biomass degrading enzymes that could be used to more efficiently hydrolyze lignocellulose. Developing these organisms through characterization and genome engineering will yield significant contributions to the bioenergy community by improving hydrolysis technologies.</p> <p>In this work, we report the isolation of four novel species of anaerobic gut fungi. A more complete characterization of one of our four fungal isolates is investigated, whereby the effects of substrate composition and the corresponding fungal growth rates are compared. I also explore the growth of one of our fungal isolates on transgenic poplar to understand how fungal growth and enzyme secretion adapt to variable lignin composition. Notably, no significant reductions in growth were observed highlighting the ability of anaerobic fungi to degrade diverse feedstocks regardless of lignin composition. I have additionally included preliminary work intended to identify what epigenetic regulational strategies exist for anaerobic fungi, and how they relate to carbohydrate active enzyme expression. We hope to leverage this knowledge to engineer base enzyme cocktails that release significant portions of the fermentable sugars in untreated or mildly treated plant biomass as a means to make bioenergy technologies more efficient.</p>

FundaÃÃo Cearense de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Cientifico e TecnolÃgico / Tropical plant species resist seasonal drought by avoidance or tolerance, keeping or losing leaves, respectively. Since drought resistance is influenced by wood attributes and lignin is a major component of wood, we investigated whether lignin is related to foliar retention time (LR). We selected 22 species, determined the stem lignin content by thioglycolic acid and quantified guaiacyl (G) and syringyl (S) monomers by thioacidolysis and GC-MS analysis. Among these species, we selected 15 species to measure vulnerability to embolism by pneumatic method. In our analyses, were considered measures of wood density, stem water saturation and stem water potential in the dry season, published by other authors. Our analyses showed that there are two ways of surviving drought. A small group of species, for which the lignin does not seem to matter, stores water in the stem and loses leaves right at the end of the rainy season. A large group of species, from early deciduous to evergreens, retains leaves in the dry season for increasingly longer periods the higher the S/G ratio is. Higher values of the S/G ratio allow greater LR by reducing vulnerability to embolism. / EspÃcies de plantas de clima tropical sazonalmente resistem à seca por tolerÃncia ou evitaÃÃo, mantendo ou perdendo folhas, respectivamente. Atributos da madeira estÃo relacionados à resistÃncia à seca e a lignina à um dos principais componentes da madeira. Investigamos se a lignina està relacionada ao tempo de retenÃÃo foliar (LR). Selecionamos 22 espÃcies, determinamos o teor de lignina do caule pelo Ãcido tioglicÃlico e quantificamos os monÃmeros guaiacil (G) e siringil (S) by thioacidolysis e GC-MS analysis. Dentre as espÃcies, selecionamos 15 espÃcies para medir a vulnerabilidade ao embolismo pelo mÃtodo pneumÃtico. IncluÃmos medidas da densidade da madeira, saturaÃÃo de Ãgua no caule e potencial hÃdrico do caule na estaÃÃo seca, publicadas por outros autores. Nossas anÃlises mostraram haver duas maneiras de sobreviver à seca. Um pequeno grupo de espÃcies, para as quais a lignina parece nÃo ter importÃncia, armazena Ãgua no caule e perde folhas logo no final da estaÃÃo chuvosa. Um grande grupo de espÃcies, que vÃo desde decÃduas precoces atà sempre verdes, retÃm folhas na estaÃÃo seca por tempos cada vez mais longos quanto maior a razÃo S/G. Maiores valores da razÃo S/G permitem maior LR por diminuir a vulnerabilidade ao embolismo.