Essays on Lignin

Where are apical and lateral meristems found and how are they arranged in the root and stem? What role or function does the meristem tissue play in plants? Apical meristems are found at the tips of growing roots and shoots and form the tissue from which the main plant stem arises. Apical meristems are small compared to lateral meristems and are responsible for the primary growth of stems and roots, subsequently increasing the length and height of the plant. They are dome shaped and have a layered structure known as tunica and corpus. The tunica is made up of ...

Lignin Chemistry

Lignin History Lignin is a plant-derived biopolymer with several applications. It is considered an effective alternative to chemically synthesized plastics that pose serious environmental problems during manufacture and disposal. Lignin is often obtained as a byproduct in paper and pulp manufacture. Lignin has to be dissolved to obtain cellulose from wood. In 1838, Anselme Payen discovered that wood contained cellulose, and oxidizable coatings (later called lignin) that bind the cellulose together (McCarthy and Islam, 2000). This coating material could be removed from wood after acid treatment and washing with an aqueous alkali solution (McCarthy and Islam, 2000). Later, several ...

1.0 Introduction

GMOs refer to organisms whose genetic makeup has been altered or modified by use of recombinant DNA technology. It involves combining gene of a desired trait from different sources to form a DNA molecule which is then incorporated into the DNA of the organism to form a modified or a new organism. There are numerous GMO products which are currently available, this include and not limited to medicine, vaccines, feeds, fibers, food and food ingredients. The subject of GMOs remains controversial because of their potential to reduce biodiversity and the fact that since it involves modification of an organism’s genome the outcomes ...