Plants
Lignin in plant cell walls inhibits enzymes from reaching cellulose and hemicellulose and breaking them down to their component sugars.
Engineer lignin to contain "zips" that can be chemically cleaved under controlled conditions, thereby releasing the polysaccharides for breakdown into simple sugars that can be fermented.
Energy-rich plant oils used to generate biodiesel are restricted to seeds, such as soybeans, which are used for food and feed.
Develop bioenergy crop plants that synthesize and retain up to 20% oil in vegetative tissues such as leaves, stems, and tuber—thereby doubling the energy content of these crops and allowing for the production of biodiesel.
The cell wall contains 5-carbon sugars that are poorly fermented by microorganisms.
Use a cutting-edge genomics approach to generate polymers rich in 6-carbon sugars.
Along with lignin, other poorly understood cell wall structures inhibit biomass deconstruction.
Use a combination of genetic approaches and powerful genomics tools to discover genes and gene variants that can be bred into bioenergy crops to enhance biomass deconstruction.
Improve bioenergy crop yields and other important biomass traits.
Use genomics and proteomics approaches to identify key regulators of plant growth and biomass synthesis.
HIGHLIGHTS
- A technology called Zip Lignin,™ which makes it easy to break apart—or unzip—the lignin in plant cell walls to release the cellulose within, could significantly reduce the energy requirements needed to process biomass and therefore cut costs. Researchers have located and isolated a gene that could make this concept possible, and are now testing it in poplar trees.
- Using cutting-edge DNA sequencing technologies and high-throughput analysis software, researchers have screened thousands of plants to identify the genes that affect such key biomass traits as increased yield and digestibility.
