A direct image of the degradability of lignocellulosic walls

Controlling and improving the transformation of lignocellulose is a major challenge for biorefinery efficiency. Our study seeks to gain a better understanding of the factors that make this biomass resistant to enzymatic degradation, with a view to prioritising them.

Recalcitrance is multifactorial: lignin content plays a key role; heterogeneous degradation has also been correlated with the structure and composition of the cell wall and, more generally, with the histological and biochemical heterogeneity of the lignocellulosic substrate.

The novelty and originality of our work lies in the use of mass spectrometry imaging to observe, locally, the susceptibility of tissues to degradation by enzymes.

Compared with lignified tissue mapping, this approach measures the joint impact of lignin and polysaccharides present in the tissue on the accessibility and efficiency of enzyme action.