Screening of <i>Miscanthus</i> Genotypes for Sustainable Production of Microcrystalline Cellulose and Cellulose Nanocrystals
Weiming Liu,
Lanqing You,
Sheng Wang,
Jie Li,
Zhiyong Chen,
Buchun Si,
Yasir Iqbal,
Shuai Xue,
Tongcheng Fu,
Zili Yi,
Meng Li
Affiliations
Weiming Liu
Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Crop Germplasm Innovation and Utilization, College of Bioscience & Biotechnology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Lanqing You
Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Crop Germplasm Innovation and Utilization, College of Bioscience & Biotechnology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Sheng Wang
Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Crop Germplasm Innovation and Utilization, College of Bioscience & Biotechnology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Jie Li
Hunan Institute of Agricultural Information and Engineering, Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hunan Intelligent Agriculture Engineering Technology Research Center, Hunan Industrial Technology Basic Public Service Platform, Changsha 410125, China
Zhiyong Chen
Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Crop Germplasm Innovation and Utilization, College of Bioscience & Biotechnology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Buchun Si
Key Laboratory of Agricultural Engineering in Structure and Environment, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Water Resources and Civil Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China
Yasir Iqbal
Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Crop Germplasm Innovation and Utilization, College of Bioscience & Biotechnology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Shuai Xue
Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Crop Germplasm Innovation and Utilization, College of Bioscience & Biotechnology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Tongcheng Fu
Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Crop Germplasm Innovation and Utilization, College of Bioscience & Biotechnology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Zili Yi
Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Crop Germplasm Innovation and Utilization, College of Bioscience & Biotechnology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Meng Li
Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Crop Germplasm Innovation and Utilization, College of Bioscience & Biotechnology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Miscanthus spp. has been regarded as a promising industrial plant for the sustainable production of bio-based materials. To assess its potential for microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) production, 50 representative clones of M. sinensis and M. floridulus were selected from a nationwide collection showcasing the extensive diversity of germplasm resources. Descriptive analysis indicates that the dry biomass weight of M. floridulus is advantageous whereas M. sinensis demonstrates higher MCC and CNCs yields as well as a smaller CNCs particle size. Correlation analyses indicated that MCC yield is solely influenced by the cellulose content whereas the yield of CNCs is affected by both the cellulose content and CrI. Comparative analyses of the chemical composition, physical features (degree of polymerization, crystalline index, particle size distribution and zeta potential), and scanning electron microscopy indicated that the MCC and CNCs extracted from M. sinensis and M. floridulus exhibited remarkable stability and quality. Additionally, the CNCs derived from M. sinensis and M. floridulus exhibited a distinctive ball-shaped structure. Notably, machine learning has demonstrated its efficacy and effectiveness in the high-throughput screening of large populations of Miscanthus spp. for predicting the yield of MCC and CNCs. Our results have also laid the theoretical foundation for the exploration, cultivation, and genetic breeding of M. sinensis and M. floridulus germplasm resources with the purpose of MCC and CNCs preparation.
