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Cited by 290Lignin and Wood ChemistryPolysaccharides and Plant Cell WallsBiofuel production and bioconversion

Carbohydrate-aromatic interface and molecular architecture of lignocellulose

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Kirui, Alex, Zhao, Wancheng, Deligey, Fabien, Yang, Hui, Kang, Xue, Mentink-Vigier, Frederic, Wang, Tuo·2022·Nature Communications
DOI 10.1038/s41467-022-28165-3PMC PMC8795156
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Abstract

Plant cell walls constitute the majority of lignocellulosic biomass and serve as a renewable resource of biomaterials and biofuel. Extensive interactions between polysaccharides and the aromatic polymer lignin make lignocellulose recalcitrant to enzymatic hydrolysis, but this polymer network remains poorly understood. Here we interrogate the nanoscale assembly of lignocellulosic components in plant stems using solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance and dynamic nuclear polarization approaches. We show that the extent of glycan-aromatic association increases sequentially across grasses, hardwoods, and softwoods. Lignin principally packs with the xylan in a non-flat conformation via non-covalent interactions and partially binds the junction of flat-ribbon xylan and cellulose surface as a secondary site. All molecules are homogeneously mixed in softwoods; this unique feature enables water retention even around the hydrophobic aromatics. These findings unveil the principles of polymer interactions underlying the heterogeneous architecture of lignocellulose, which may guide the rational design of more digestible plants and more efficient biomass-conversion pathways.

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  • Such structural rearrangements have been observed in the xylan of the secondary cell walls across various plant species, where folding onto the flat surfaces of cellulose microfibrils induces a conformational shift from a three-fold helical structure to a flat, two-fold conformation.

    “Such structural rearrangements have been observed in the xylan of the secondary cell walls across various plant species, where folding onto the flat surfaces of cellulose microfibrils induces a conformational shift from a three-fold helical structure to a flat, two-fold conformation92–94.”

    From Distinct echinocandin responses of Candida albicans and Candida auris cell walls revealed by solid-state NMR (2025) · cites this paper as [94]

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References 85 · Cited by 290

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Authors
Kirui, A., Zhao, W., Deligey, F., Yang, H., Kang, X., Mentink-Vigier, F., & Wang, T.
Affiliations
  • Louisiana State University (US)
  • Pennsylvania State University (US)
  • Ningbo University (CN)
Corresponding author
Wang, Tuo
ORCID
Venue
Nature Communications
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2022-01-27
Volume
13
Issue
1
Pages
538-538
ISSN
2041-1723 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1038/s41467-022-28165-3
PMC
PMC8795156
OpenAlex
W4210301269
Cited by
290
References
85
Citations by year
2026: 84 · 2025: 80 · 2024: 60 · 2023: 48 · 2022: 18
FWCI
14.75
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Nature Communications (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) (submittedVersion)
Funders
U.S. Department of Energy (DE-SC0021210, DE-SC0001090)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Lignin and Wood Chemistry
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Polysaccharides and Plant Cell Walls
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Biofuel production and bioconversion
Keywords
lignocellulosic biomass, plant cell wall, lignin, xylan, cellulose, non-covalent interactions, plant stems, Poaceae, hardwood, softwood, lignocellulose recalcitrance, enzymatic hydrolysis, water retention
MeSH terms
Biopolymers, Cell Wall, Cellulose, Poaceae, Hydrolysis, Lignin, Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, Plants, Polysaccharides, Xylans, Biomass

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