Lignin is a principal component of plant cell walls and was thought to be mostly produced from L-phenylalanine. A new study in Brachypodium demonstrates that in grasses — a major source of food, livestock feed and biofuels — nearly half of the plant's lignin is actually made through fewer steps via l-tyrosine.
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Maeda, H. Lignin biosynthesis: Tyrosine shortcut in grasses. Nature Plants 2, 16080 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nplants.2016.80
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nplants.2016.80
