Biomass in Multifunction Crop Plants: Cooperative Research and Development Final Report, CRADA Number CRD-05-163

An array of cellulase, hemicellulase, and accessory enzymes were tested for their ability to increase the conversion levels and rates of biomass to sugar after being subjected to thermochemical pretreatment. The genes were cloned by Oklahoma State University and expressed, purified, and tested at NREL. Several enzymes were noted to be effective in increasing conversion levels, however expression levels were typically very low. The overall plan was to express these enzymes in corn as a possible mechanism towards decreased recalcitrance. One enzyme, cel5A endoglucanase from Acidothermus cellulolyticus, was transformed into both tobacco and corn. The transgenic corn stover and tobacco were examined for their susceptibility to thermochemical pretreatment followed by enzymatic digestion