press release: For the fall semester, WN@TL goes hybrid both with Zoom and with in-person presentations. The zoom registration link is still go.wisc.edu/240r59. Starting September 15, you can also watch a live web stream at biotech.wisc.edu/webcams

On November 17 we get a chance to unravel the knotty problem of how the class of chemicals called lignins help give the cell walls of plants (and especially trees) such remarkable strength in compression, tension, torsion and shear. John Ralph of Biochemistry and the Wisconsin Energy Institute will drill deep intoLignins: Intrigue and Controversies Surrounding a Little-KnownMajor Polymer.

Description:Lignin, comprising some 15-30% of plant biomass, is arguably the 2nd mostabundant terrestrial biopolymer, yet many have never heard of it (although the termlignocellulosics is now becoming more widespread). Its structure and biosynthesis areintriguing on many levels, and the theory of lignification has been delightfully controversial.Well attempt to highlight some of the intrigue with an emphasis on new findings that offerenhanced opportunities for exploiting Natures most abundant source of aromatics.

Bio:John Ralph is a Professor of Biochemistry at the University of WisconsinMadison and,since 2015, a Distinguished Professor of the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology.He obtained his B.Sc. (Hons) in Chemistry at Canterbury University, New Zealand, in 1976,and his Ph.D. in Chemistry/Forestry at the University of WisconsinMadison in 1982.

Ralphsgroup is recognized for its work on lignin biosynthesis, including delineation of the pathwaysof monolignol biosynthesis, lignin chemistry, and lignin reactions; particular interest is in thechemical/structural effects of perturbing lignin biosynthesis, and extensions of this work areaimed at redesigning lignins to be more valuable or more readily degraded. The group hasdeveloped synthetic methods for biosynthetic products, precursors, intermediates, molecularmarkers, cell wall model compounds, etc. It has developed methods for solution-state NMR oflignins, including whole-cell-wall methods that require no pre-fractionation of wallcomponents, and chemical/degradative, NMR, and GC-MS combinatorial methods for cellwall cross-linking mechanisms and cell wall structural analysis.

Ralph was elected as a Fellowof the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2005, is on theEditorial Boards of five international journals, and has been named by the Institute forScientific Information as one of the 10 most cited authors in the plant and animal sciencesevery year since 2007.

Explore More:

https://biochem.wisc.edu/faculty/ralph

https://energy.wisc.edu/about/energy-experts/john-ralph

http://www.glbrc.org

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=gkLpFa4AAAAJ

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Wednesday Nite at the Lab - Isthmus