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Production of deuterated switchgrass by hydroponic cultivation

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Abstract

Main conclusion

The bioenergy crop switchgrass was grown hydroponically from tiller cuttings in 50 % D 2 O to obtain biomass with 34 % deuterium substitution and physicochemical properties similar to those of H 2 O-grown switchgrass controls.

Deuterium enrichment of biological materials can potentially enable expanded experimental use of small angle neutron scattering (SANS) to investigate molecular structural transitions of complex systems such as plant cell walls. Two key advances have been made that facilitate cultivation of switchgrass, an important forage and biofuel crop, for controlled isotopic enrichment: (1) perfusion system with individual chambers and (2) hydroponic growth from tiller cuttings. Plants were grown and maintained for several months with periodic harvest. Photosynthetic activity was monitored by measurement of CO2 in outflow from the growth chambers. Plant morphology and composition appeared normal compared to matched controls grown with H2O. Using this improved method, gram quantities of switchgrass leaves and stems were produced by continuous hydroponic cultivation using growth medium consisting of basal mineral salts in 50 % D2O. Deuterium incorporation was confirmed by detection of the O-D and C-D stretching peaks with FTIR and quantified by 1H- and 2H-NMR. This capability to produce deuterated lignocellulosic biomass under controlled conditions will enhance investigation of cell wall structure and its deconstruction by neutron scattering and NMR techniques.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Genomic Science Program, Office of Biological and Environmental Research, US Department of Energy, under Contract FWP ERKP752. The research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Center for Structural Molecular Biology (CSMB) was supported by the Office of Biological and Environmental Research under Contract FWP ERKP291, using facilities supported by the Office of Basic Energy Sciences, US Department of Energy. Oak Ridge National Laboratory is managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the US Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC05-00OR22725. D. Reeves was supported by a US Department of Energy Higher Education Research Experience internship managed by Oak Ridge Institute of Science and Education. C. Rempe was supported by a Department of Energy Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship and Higher Education Research Experience internship managed by Oak Ridge Institute of Science and Education.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Marcus Foston

    Present address: Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA

  2. Arthur J. Ragauskas

    Present address: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA

  3. Joseph McGaughey

    Present address: , 5105 Greentree Drive, Nashville, TN, 37211, USA

  4. David Reeves

    Present address: Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA

  5. Caroline S. Rempe

    Present address: School of Genome Science and Technology, F337 Walters Life Science, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, USA

    Barbara R. Evans, Joseph McGaughey, David Reeves & Caroline S. Rempe

  2. Institute of Paper Science and Technology, School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA

    Garima Bali, Marcus Foston & Arthur J. Ragauskas

  3. Biology and Soft Matter Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, USA

    Hugh M. O’Neill & Riddhi Shah

  4. Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, USA

    Arthur J. Ragauskas & Brian H. Davison

Authors
  1. Barbara R. Evans
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  2. Garima Bali
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Barbara R. Evans.

Additional information

This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC, under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the US Department of Energy. The United States Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the United States Government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, world-wide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for United States Government purposes. The Department of Energy will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan (http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan).

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material. Electronic Supplementary Information (ESI) document containing Tables S1 – S8 with detailed information on plant cultivation, analytical methods, and structural characterization is available on-line.

Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 90 kb)

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Evans, B.R., Bali, G., Foston, M. et al. Production of deuterated switchgrass by hydroponic cultivation. Planta 242, 215–222 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-015-2298-0

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