Commercial production of polysaccharide degrading enzymes in plants and methods of using same

Abstract

Expression of recombinant polysaccharide degrading enzymes in plants is described. In one embodiment, expression of the enzyme is preferentially directed to the seed of the plant. Expression may also be preferentially targeted to specific locations within the plant cell. Expression of cellulases in corn is shown. The result is the capacity to produce polysaccharide degrading enzymes in plants at commercially acceptable levels in a reliable manner. Methods of using same in production of ethanol is also described, including use of the plant-produced enzymes in the ethanol production process.

Description

[0001]This application is a continuation of previously filed and co-pending application U.S. Ser. No. 11 / 219,180, filed Sep. 2, 2005, which claims benefit under 35 U.S.C.§119(e) to previously filed and co-pending application U.S. Ser. No. 60 / 607,098, filed Sep. 3, 2004 and which application U.S. Ser. No. 11 / 219,180 is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 10 / 310,292, filed Dec. 5, 2002, which claims benefit under 35 U.S.C.§ 119(e) to U.S. Ser. No. 60 / 340,035, filed Dec. 6, 2001, the contents of all such prior filings are incorporated herein by reference.GOVERNMENT INTEREST[0002]The work of this invention was funded in part by a grant from the USDA and the government has certain rights therein.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0003]The present invention relates to commercial production of heterologous proteins in plants. More specifically, the invention is to novel methods of expressing a heterologous polysaccharide degrading enzyme in plants, particularly in grains, and to methods of ta...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The patent describes how to make plants that produce enzymes that break down polysaccharides, which can be used in the production of ethanol. The patent also describes how to make these plants produce the enzymes in a specific way, such as in the chloroplasts or in the cell wall. Overall, the patent shows how to create plants that can help improve the process of making ethanol."

Problems solved by technology

The US transportation sector alone consumes over 100 billion gallons of gasoline per year.

Most (˜60%) of the oil used in the US today is imported, creating a somewhat precarious situation in today's political climate because supply disruptions are highly likely and would cripple the ability of the economy to function.

Fossil petroleum resources, on which our standard of living currently depends, will likely be severely limited within the next 50-100 years.

Ethanol that is produced from corn starch, however, has not been cost-effective alternative to fossil fuels.

Because known technologies for ethanol production from plant biomass have been more costly than the market price for ethanol, ethanol will not become an important alternative to fossil fuels, unless the price of fossil fuels rises substantially.

However, its semi-crystalline structure is notoriously resistant to hydrolysis by both enzymatic and chemical means.

The economics of using corn stover or any other source of lignocellulosic biomass to produce ethanol is ominous at best and is the limiting step behind the attainment of such a goal.

This is due to the high operation costs of collecting and transporting the lignocellulosic raw material to destination plants, producing the polysaccharide-degrading enzymes and the high cost of pretreating the lignocellulosic raw material to facilitate its enzymatic degradation.

The scale-up of fermentation systems for the large volumes of enzyme required for biomass conversion would be difficult and extremely capital intensive.

Capital and operating costs of such a fermentative approach to producing cellulases are likely to be impractical due to the huge scale and capital investment that will be required.

However, these methods are very expensive and time intensive, particularly in the scale-up of cultures or herds large enough for industrial enzyme production, making them highly impractical.

Bacteria and fungi are relatively simple systems but require a large initial investment for capital equipment.

Molecular Breeding 6:37-46) have expressed an endoglucanase in Arabidopsis leaves and in tobacco tissue culture cells at high levels, but both systems are impractical for commercialization.

None of the expression systems to date have shown a practical application of producing cellulases.

However, the use of this plant is impractical for commercial production of enzymes.

It is a model organism, used because of its ease in transformation, but grows to a height of only three inches and could not possibly produce adequate amounts of enzyme for commercial purposes.

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