Enhancing lignocellulosic biomass conversion for bioethanol production via arabinofuranosidase-mediated cell wall remodeling in tobacco

Lignocellulosic biomass is a key renewable resource for sustainable bioenergy production; however, its efficient conversion remains limited by intrinsic cell wall recalcitrance. Here, we investigated whether targeted remodeling of arabinose-containing matrix polysaccharides by fungal α-L-arabinofuranosidase B (ABFB) could improve biomass processability in the dicot model species Nicotiana tabacum. A codon-optimized abfB from Aspergillus nidulans was constitutively expressed in tobacco, generating independent transgenic lines with stable transgene expression, detectable FLAG-tagged ABFB protein, and line-dependent increases in enzymatic activity.