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Obama Announces Steps to Boost Biofuels, Clean Coal »

NEWS MEDIA CONTACT: (202) 586-4940
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, February 03, 2010

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama today announced a series of steps his Administration is taking as part of its comprehensive strategy to enhance American energy independence while building a foundation for a new clean energy economy, and its promise of new industries and millions of jobs.

At a meeting with a bipartisan group of governors from around the country, the President laid out three measures that will work in concert to boost biofuels production and reduce our dangerous dependence on foreign oil. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized a rule to implement the long-term renewable fuels standard of 36 billion gallons by 2022 established by Congress. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has proposed a rule on the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) that would provide financing to increase the conversion of biomass to bioenergy. The President’s Biofuels Interagency Working Group released its first report – Growing America’s Fuel. The report, authored by group co-chairs, Secretaries Vilsack and Chu, and Administrator Jackson, lays out a strategy to advance the development and commercialization of a sustainable biofuels industry to meet or exceed the nation’s biofuels targets.
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Research: DGAT1 and PDAT1 acyltransferases have overlapping functions in Arabidopsis triacylglycerol biosynthesis and are essential for normal pollen and seed development »

ZHANG, M., FAN, J., TAYLOR, D. C. & OHLROGGE, J. B. 2009. DGAT1 and PDAT1 acyltransferases have overlapping functions in Arabidopsis triacylglycerol biosynthesis and are essential for normal pollen and seed development. Plant Cell, 21, 3885-901.

Abstract: Triacylglycerol (TAG) biosynthesis is a principal metabolic pathway in most organisms, and TAG is the major form of carbon storage in many plant seeds. Acyl-CoA:diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 (DGAT1) is the only acyltransferase enzyme that has been confirmed to contribute to TAG biosynthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana seeds. However, dgat1 null mutants display only a 20 to 40% decrease in seed oil content. To determine whether other enzymes contribute to TAG synthesis, candidate genes were expressed in TAG-deficient yeast, candidate mutants were crossed with the dgat1-1 mutant, and target genes were suppressed by RNA interference (RNAi). An in vivo role for phospholipid:diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 (PDAT1; At5g13640) in TAG synthesis was revealed in this study. After failing to obtain double homozygous plants from crossing dgat1-1 and pdat1-2, further investigation showed that the dgat1-1 pdat1-2 double mutation resulted in sterile pollen that lacked visible oil bodies. RNAi silencing of PDAT1 in a dgat1-1 background or DGAT1 in pdat1-1 background resulted in 70 to 80% decreases in oil content per seed and in disruptions of embryo development. These results establish in vivo involvement of PDAT1 in TAG biosynthesis, rule out major contributions by other candidate enzymes, and indicate that PDAT1 and DGAT1 have overlapping functions that are essential for normal pollen and seed development of Arabidopsis.

Research: Environmental and economic analysis of the fully integrated biorefinery »

SENDICH, E. D. & DALE, B. E. 2009. Environmental and economic analysis of the fully integrated biorefinery. GCB Bioenergy, 1, 331-345.

Abstract: Cellulosic biofuel systems have the potential to significantly reduce the environmental impact of the world’s transportation energy requirements. However, realizing this potential will require systems level thinking and scale integration. Until now, we have lacked modeling tools for studying the behavior of integrated cellulosic biofuel systems. In this paper, we describe a new research tool, the Biorefinery and Farm Integration Tool (BFIT) in which the production of fuel ethanol from cellulosic biomass is integrated with crop and animal (agricultural) production models. Uniting these three subsystems in a single combined model has allowed, for the first time, basic environmental and economic analysis of biomass production, possible secondary products, fertilizer production, and bioenergy production across various regions of the United States. Using BFIT, we simulate cellulosic ethanol production embedded in realistic agricultural landscapes in nine locations under a collection of farm management scenarios. This combined modeling approach permits analysis of economic profitability and highlights key areas for environmental improvement. These results show the advantages of introducing integrated biorefinery systems within agricultural landscapes. This is particularly true in the Midwest, which our results suggest is a good setting for the cellulosic ethanol industry. Specifically, results show that inclusion of cellulosic biofuel systems into existing agriculture enhances farm economics and reduces total landscape emissions. Model results also indicate a limited ethanol price effect from increased biomass transportation distance. Sensitivity analysis using BFIT revealed those variables having the strongest effects on the overall system performance, namely: biorefinery size, switchgrass yield, and biomass farm gate price.

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