There is evidence that structural proteins within plant cell walls provide nucleation sites during lignification, perhaps forming lignin-protein linkages; however, these covalent linkages have not been characterized. This research aims to characterize lignin-protein linkages in vitro, as a better understanding of these linkages could lead to their manipulation in order to reduce lignin recalcitrance. Lignin DHP was used as the model lignin compound in this study as it reliably represents �natural� lignin. Gelatin was used as the model peptide as it represents plant peptides with regards to amino acid sequence.  Lignin DHP was synthesized in both the presence and absence of gelatin peptide. These DHPs were submitted to X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) to search for evidence of cross-linking. XPS and FT-IR results showed the possibility of DHP-gelatin cross-linking. NMR will be used to more accurately characterize these linkages.

In vitro<i> </i>evidence of lignin-protein cross-linkages

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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In vitro evidence of lignin-protein cross-linkages