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The mechanism of xylans removal during hydrothermal pretreatment of poplar fibers investigated by immunogold labeling

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Abstract

Main conclusion

Hydrothermal pretreatment initially removed the lignin-free xylan from the middle layer of secondary wall, followed by the lignin-bound xylan, but the cellulose-bound xylan was seldom removed by this pretreatment.

An in-depth understanding of the mechanism of xylan removal during hydrothermal pretreatment (HTP) of wood is critical for cost-effective conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to biofuels. Several studies demonstrated the kinetics and mechanism of xylan removal during HTP on molecular scale, but the dissolution mechanism of xylan during HTP remains unclear at ultra-structural level. Our study investigated changes in the micro-distribution of xylan in poplar fiber cell walls during HTP by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) in combination with immunogold labeling. The study revealed that HTP caused greater decline in the density of xylan labeling in the S2 layer of fiber wall than in the S1 layer. There was a greater loss in the density of xylan labeling during HTP in the delignified and enzymatically treated fibers compared to untreated fibers. We propose that in the initial stages of HTP lignin-free xylan in the S2 layer was more readily hydrolyzed than in the S1 layer by hydronium ions. With increasing pretreatment time, the xylan covalently bound to lignin was also removed from the S2 layer due to the dissolution of lignin. The xylan tightly bound to cellulose was seldom removed during HTP, but was hydrolyzed in subsequent enzymatic treatment. This TEM-immunolabeling investigation reveals the manner in which different xylan fractions are removed from fiber cell wall during HTP, and we expect the information to be helpful in developing processes tailored for more effective conversion of cellulosic biomass into fermentable sugars.

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Abbreviations

CML:

Compound middle lamella

D+HTP:

Hydrothermal pretreatment after delignification

HTP:

Hydrothermal pretreatment

HTP+E:

Hydrothermal pretreatment followed by enzymatic treatment

iS2 layer:

Inner part of S2 layer

mS2 layer:

Middle part of S2 layer

oS2 layer:

Outer part of S2 layer

S layer:

Secondary cell wall

S1 layer:

Outer layer of secondary cell wall

S2 layer:

Middle layer of secondary cell wall

TB:

Toluidine blue

TEM:

Transmission electron microscopy

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Acknowledgments

The authors are very grateful for the financial support from National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (31225005), Chinese Ministry of Education (113014A) and National Science and Technology Program of the Twelfth Five-Year Plan Period (2012BAD32B06).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing Key Laboratory of Lignocellulosic Chemistry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China

    Jing Ma, Zhe Ji, Xia Zhou & Feng Xu

  2. Shandong Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Engineering, Qilu University of Technology, Jinan, 250353, China

    Jia C. Chen & Feng Xu

  3. Department of Wood Science and Engineering, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, 500757, South Korea

    Yoon S. Kim

Authors
  1. Jing Ma
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  2. Zhe Ji
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  3. Jia C. Chen
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  4. Xia Zhou
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  6. Feng Xu
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Correspondence to Feng Xu.

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Ma, J., Ji, Z., Chen, J.C. et al. The mechanism of xylans removal during hydrothermal pretreatment of poplar fibers investigated by immunogold labeling. Planta 242, 327–337 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-015-2313-5

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