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Background Many different feedstocks are under consideration for the practical production of biofuels from lignocellulosic materials. The best choice under any particular combination of economic, agronomic, and environmental conditions depends on multiple factors. The use of old fields, restored prairie, or marginal lands to grow biofuel feedstocks offers several potential benefits including minimal agronomic inputs, reduced competition with food production, and high biodiversity. However, a major component of such landscapes is often herbaceous dicotyledonous plants, also known as forbs. The potential and obstacles of using forbs as biofuel feedstocks compared to the more frequently considered grasses and woody plants are poorly understood. Results The factors that contribute to the yield of fermentable sugars from four representative forbs were studied in comparison with corn stover. The forbs chosen for the study were lamb's quarters (Chenopodium album), goldenrod (Solidago canadensis), milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), and Queen Anne's lace (Daucus carota). These plants are taxonomically diverse, widely distributed in northern temperate regions including the continental United States, and are weedy but not invasive. All of the forbs had lower total glucose (Glc) content from all sources (cell walls, sucrose, starch, glucosides, and free Glc) compared to corn stover (range 16.2 to 23.0% on a dry weight basis compared to 39.2% for corn stover). When digested with commercial enzyme mixtures after alkaline pretreatment, yields of Glc as a percentage of total Glc were lower for the forbs compared to corn stover. Enzyme inhibition by water-extractable compounds was not a significant contributor to the lower yields. Based on experiments with optimized cocktails of pure glycosyl hydrolases, enzyme imbalance probably accounted for much of the lower yields. Addition of xyloglucanase and α- xylosidase, two enzymes targeting Glc-containing polysaccharides that are more abundant in dicotyledonous plants compared to grasses, enhanced Glc yields from lamb's quarters, but Glc yields were still lower than from corn stover. Conclusion The potential utilization of forb-rich plant communities as biofuel feedstocks must take into account their lower Glc content compared to grasses such as corn stover. Furthermore, new enzyme mixtures tailored to the different cell wall composition of forbs will have to be developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although a-linked xylose is a major constituent of the hemicelluloses of land plants, few secreted a-xylosidases have been described from fungi or bacteria. AxlA of Aspergillus niger is a secreted α-xylosidase that was earlier shown to promote the release of free glucose (Glc) and xylose (Xyl) from substrates containing α-linked xylose, including isoprimeverose (IP), the heptasaccharide subunit of pea xyloglucan (XG), and tamarind XG. Results: The utility of AxlA for enhancing release of free Glc and Xyl in combination with commercial enzyme cocktails from dicotyledonous and monocotyledonous plants was examined. Without AxlA supplementation, a mixture of CTec2 and HTec2 (both of which are derived from T. reesei) did not release significant levels of Glc from pea XG or tamarind XG. This is consistent with their lack of detectable α-xylosidase activity using model substrates. On alkaline hydrogen peroxide-pretreated corn stover, supplementation of CTec2/HTec2 (at a loading of 2.5 mg/g glucan) with AxlA (at a loading of 8 mg/g glucan) increased Glc yields from 82% to 88% of the total available Glc and increased Xyl yields from 55% to 60%. AxlA supplementation also improved Glc yields from corn stover treated with the commercial cellulase Accellerase 1000. The AxlA enhancement was not a general protein effect because bovine serum albumin or bovine gamma-globulin at similar concentrations did not enhance Glc yields from corn stover in response to CTec2/HTec2. Supplementation of CTec2/HTec2 with AxlA did not enhance Glc release from pretreated green or etiolated pea tissue. However, AxlA did enhance Glc and Xyl yields compared to CTec2/HTec2 alone from another dicotyledonous herbaceous plant, Chenopodium album (lamb's quarters). Conclusion: Supplementation of commercial cellulase cocktails with AxlA enhances yields of Glc and Xyl from some biomass substrates under some conditions, and may prove useful in industrial lignocellulose conversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]