Advances in Botanical Research

Lignin is a large phenolic polymer found in the cell wall of most land plants. Volume ABR104, provides in-depth reviews on the most recent discoveries in the field. It revisits the lignin paradigm and reviews the occurrence of unconventional lignin precursors that are derived from both the monolignol biosynthetic pathway, and from other polyphenolic biosynthetic pathways. The volume encompasses the most recent data about the regulation of lignin biosynthesis in a environment of polysaccharides, the importance of oxidases, the pivotal role of feruloylation and coumaroylation of the cell wall both in the lignified stem and in the cereal grain. The volume gives an important part to the transcriptional regulation at different scales. At last, vibrational and fluorescence microscopy methods to characterize the lignin-decorated cell wall as well the most recent bioengineering approaches towards lignin modification are reviewed.

• The paradigm of lignin polymer expanded to new discovered compounds
• The fluorescence and vibrational microscopy to detect lignin and phenolics
• Spatial and timed transcriptional regulation of lignification

Preface Richard Sibout 1. Unconventional lignin monomers: Extension of the lignin paradigm José C. Del Río, Jorge Rencoret, Ana Gutiérrez, Hoon Kim and John Ralph 2. Lignin synthesis and bioengineering approaches toward lignin modification Chang-Jun Liu and Aymerick Eudes 3. Glycobiology of the plant secondary cell wall dynamics Marc Behr, Mondher El Jaziri and Marie Baucher 4. Oxidative enzymes in lignification Natalie Hoffmann, Eliana Gonzales-Vigil, Shawn D. Mansfield and A. Lacey Samuels 5. Ferulic and coumaric acids in the cereal grain: Occurrence, biosynthesis, biological functions Anne Laure Chateigner-Boutin and Luc Saulnier 6. In situ imaging of lignin and related compounds by Raman, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and fluorescence microscopy Fabienne Guillon, Notburga Gierlinger, Marie-Françoise Devaux and András Gorzsás 7. Spatio-temporal regulation of lignification Maxime Chantreau and Hannele Tuominen 8. Transcriptional regulation of secondary cell wall formation and lignification Steven G. Hussey 9. Regulation of secondary cell wall lignification by abiotic and biotic constraints Ines Hadj Bachir, Raphael Ployet, Chantal Teulières, Hua Cassan-Wang, Fabien Mounet and Jacqueline Grima-Pettenati