Mutation in Brachypodium caffeic acid O-methyltransferase 6 alters stem and grain lignins and improves straw saccharification without deteriorating grain quality

Cereal crop by-products are a promising source of renewable raw material for the production of biofuel from lignocellulose. However, their enzymatic conversion to fermentable sugars is detrimentally affected by lignins. Here the characterization of the Brachypodium Bd5139 mutant provided with a single nucleotide mutation in the caffeic acid O-methyltransferase BdCOMT6 gene is reported. This BdCOMT6-deficient mutant displayed a moderately altered lignification in mature stems. The lignin-related BdCOMT6 gene was also found to be expressed in grains, and the alterations of Bd5139 grain lignins were found to mirror nicely those evidenced in stem lignins. The Bd5139 grains displayed similar size and composition to the control. Complementation experiments carried out by introducing the mutated gene into the AtCOMT1-deficient Arabidopsis mutant demonstrated that the mutated BdCOMT6 protein was still functional. Such a moderate down-regulation of lignin-related COMT enzyme reduced the straw recalcitrance to saccharification, without compromising the vegetative or reproductive development of the plant.