Navigation Links
Grass to gas: UGA researchers' genome map speeds biofuel development
Date:2/10/2012

Athens, Ga. Researchers at the University of Georgia have taken a major step in the ongoing effort to find sources of cleaner, renewable energy by mapping the genomes of two originator cells of Miscanthus x giganteus, a large perennial grass with promise as a source of ethanol and bioenergy.

Changsoo Kim, a postdoctoral research associate in the UGA Plant Genome Mapping Laboratory, identified a set of approximately 600 bits of Miscanthus DNA that can serve as diagnostic tools. The next step is to determine which pieces of DNA are diagnostic of genes that can make the plant an even better biofuel crop.

Kim's workand the Plant Genome Mapping Laboratoryis led by Andrew Paterson, a Distinguished Research Professor who falls under the UGA departments of genetics and plant biology in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and crop and soil sciences in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

"What we are doing right now is taking the same individual plants that were used in the genetic map and measuring their height, flowering time, the size of their stalks, the dimensions of their leaves and how far they have spread from where they were planted," said Paterson, who is also a member of the Bioenergy Systems Research Institute. "And then one can use pretty straightforward statistics to look for correlations between bits of DNA and a trait."

Miscanthus is a natural candidate for biomass farming. Its sugarcane-like stalks grow to more than 12 feet in height in soil of marginal quality; it requires very little fertilizer; it grows well in moist temperate climates across the United States, Europe and Asia; and in the eastern U.S. it can produce more biomass on less acreage than other candidate biofuel crops.

Miscanthus is also a cleaner source of energy than fossil fuels. When coal or oil is burned, it releases carbon that has been trapped under the earth's crust into the atmosp
'/>"/>

Contact: Andrew Paterson
paterson@plantbio.uga.edu
706-583-0162
University of Georgia
Source:Eurekalert

2

GOOD

Page: 1 2 3

Related biology news :

1. Prolonged effects of a warming anomaly on grasslands
2. Bacteria manage perfume oil production from grass
3. Replacing corn with perennial grasses improves carbon footprint of biofuels
4. Climate change enhances grassland productivity
5. Will large amounts of soil carbon be released if grasslands are converted to energy crops?
6. This grass is still greener
7. K-State biologist collaborating with researchers in Africa on grassland sustainability, biodiversity
8. Grasslands: The future of sustainable agriculture
9. UGA licenses new Bermuda grass that thrives in sun and shade
10. UCR Turfgrass Field Day to focus on water conservation, disease management, & natural turf
11. Cybernetwork to help K-State researchers study tallgrass prairie, respond to global warming
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
(Date:5/18/2012)... the winners of their 6th Annual Research Awards ... the very best research that has been made ... guests attended the prestigious ceremony including leading researchers, ... world. , The winners were selected by ... journals which published more than 18,000 peer-reviewed open ...
(Date:5/17/2012)... participate in genetic testing that can indicate their ... these results does not appreciably drive up or ... health services, according to a study performed by ... colleagues at other institutions. , The study in ... Genetics in Medicine was done by ...
(Date:5/17/2012)... (BAPVC) an industry-supported program led by Stanford ... announced its first research grants aimed at making ... the decade. , A total of $7.5 million ... BAPVC partner institutions Stanford, UC-Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National ... National Renewable Energy Laboratory. , The three-year grants ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):BioMed Central announces winners of 6th Annual Research Awards 2NIH-led study finds genetic test results do not trigger increased use of health services 2NIH-led study finds genetic test results do not trigger increased use of health services 3NIH-led study finds genetic test results do not trigger increased use of health services 4Bay Area PV Consortium announces $7.5 million in grants to lower the cost of large-scale solar 2Bay Area PV Consortium announces $7.5 million in grants to lower the cost of large-scale solar 3Bay Area PV Consortium announces $7.5 million in grants to lower the cost of large-scale solar 4Study suggests lower risk of coronary heart disease from alcohol even with hazardous drinking 18988 1Study suggests lower risk of coronary heart disease from alcohol even with hazardous drinking 18988 2Study suggests lower risk of coronary heart disease from alcohol even with hazardous drinking 18988 3Study suggests lower risk of coronary heart disease from alcohol even with hazardous drinking 18988 4NIST prototypes framework for evaluating sustainability standards 18985 1NIST prototypes framework for evaluating sustainability standards 18985 2A less painful colonoscopy 81359 1A less painful colonoscopy 81359 2A less painful colonoscopy 81359 3
... the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) will launch a ... (CMBE) in March 2008. Springer is already ... Biomedical Engineering. , Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering ... of cellular and molecular bioengineering, thus advancing this ...
... between Plant Physiology and The Arabidopsis Information Resource (TAIR) ... genetic and molecular data on Arabidopsis published in the ... collaborationthe first of its kind-- provides authors with the ... and gene information to the TAIR database at the ...
... significant role in retaining human-generated nitrogen, serving as the ... up in estuaries and oceans, finds a paper published ... Hampshire professor William McDowell and research scientist Jody Potter, ... the co-authors of the study, led by Patrick Mulholland ...
Other Biology News:Springer expands publishing partnership with the Biomedical Engineering Society 2Plant Physiology and TAIR partnership will provide genetic information to public database 2Plant Physiology and TAIR partnership will provide genetic information to public database 3Streams remove significant amounts of nitrogen, preventing downstream 'dead zones' 2
(Date:5/16/2012)... May 16, 2012  Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ... Board of Directors has increased the Company,s common ... million shares. Since the beginning of ... shareholders through the repurchase of approximately 19.2 million ... its shares as of the commencement of the ...
(Date:5/15/2012)... Researchers have taken a step toward overcoming ... structures that could bring optical advances including ... The researchers have shown how to create ... gold previously required, said Alexandra Boltasseva, a ... computer engineering. , Using the metals is ...
(Date:5/15/2012)... -- Cardium Therapeutics (NYSE Amex: CXM ... first quarter ended March 31, 2012, and other ... In addition to the announcement ... its goals for 2012, which were outlined in ... advance commercialization of its new Excellagen® advanced, physician-use ...
(Date:5/14/2012)... connection, if any, between sudden cardiac death and people ... lives? , In a comprehensive, 10-year UCSF study, researchers ... a rate four times higher than the general population. ... we were looking at every instance of sudden death ... MD, an electrophysiologist and an associate professor of medicine ...
Breaking Biology Technology:Questcor Pharmaceuticals Expands Repurchase Program 2Questcor Pharmaceuticals Expands Repurchase Program 3Questcor Pharmaceuticals Expands Repurchase Program 4Questcor Pharmaceuticals Expands Repurchase Program 5New 'metamaterial' practical for optical advances 2New 'metamaterial' practical for optical advances 3Cardium Presents First Quarter 2012 Financial Results and Recent Developments 2Cardium Presents First Quarter 2012 Financial Results and Recent Developments 3Cardium Presents First Quarter 2012 Financial Results and Recent Developments 4Cardium Presents First Quarter 2012 Financial Results and Recent Developments 5Cardium Presents First Quarter 2012 Financial Results and Recent Developments 6Cardium Presents First Quarter 2012 Financial Results and Recent Developments 7Cardium Presents First Quarter 2012 Financial Results and Recent Developments 8Cardium Presents First Quarter 2012 Financial Results and Recent Developments 9Cardium Presents First Quarter 2012 Financial Results and Recent Developments 10Cardium Presents First Quarter 2012 Financial Results and Recent Developments 11Are people with HIV/AIDS more prone to sudden cardiac death? 2Are people with HIV/AIDS more prone to sudden cardiac death? 3
... HALIFAX, May 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - MedMira Inc., ("MedMira") (TSX ... and marketer of rapid diagnostic technology and solutions, announced ... Company,s U.S. distribution network. Headquartered in West Chester, Pennsylvania, ... with worldwide sales in excess of $3.7 billion. , ...
... The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted ... Prograf(R) (tacrolimus) in conjunction with mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) for ... Prograf is a cornerstone therapy for preventing transplant ... approval came on May 19, 2009 in response to ...
... of Global Distribution Agreements to Make ZyGEM,s Lower-Cost, ... Researchers Everywhere--ZyGEM Also Announces Issuance of U.S. Patent ... Calif. and HAMILTON, New Zealand and ANN ... today announced that it has entered into an ...
Other Biology Technology:MedMira Strengthens North American Sales Channels, Adding VWR as Distributor for the United States 2Astellas Receives FDA Approval for Use of Prograf(R) (Tacrolimus) in Conjunction With Mycophenolate Mofetil (MMF) in Kidney Transplant Recipients 2Astellas Receives FDA Approval for Use of Prograf(R) (Tacrolimus) in Conjunction With Mycophenolate Mofetil (MMF) in Kidney Transplant Recipients 3Astellas Receives FDA Approval for Use of Prograf(R) (Tacrolimus) in Conjunction With Mycophenolate Mofetil (MMF) in Kidney Transplant Recipients 4Astellas Receives FDA Approval for Use of Prograf(R) (Tacrolimus) in Conjunction With Mycophenolate Mofetil (MMF) in Kidney Transplant Recipients 5Astellas Receives FDA Approval for Use of Prograf(R) (Tacrolimus) in Conjunction With Mycophenolate Mofetil (MMF) in Kidney Transplant Recipients 6ZyGEM Corp. Signs Agreement to Incorporate Its Breakthrough DNA Extraction Technology Into Rubicon's Research and Diagnostic Products 2ZyGEM Corp. Signs Agreement to Incorporate Its Breakthrough DNA Extraction Technology Into Rubicon's Research and Diagnostic Products 3ZyGEM Corp. Signs Agreement to Incorporate Its Breakthrough DNA Extraction Technology Into Rubicon's Research and Diagnostic Products 4
... system designed for flexibility and routine operation. ... ion lens, true hyperbolic quadrupole and high-speed ... widest range of sample types and applications. ... as standard Agilents unique ShieldTorch System, which ...
... except that it uses a deep-UV deuterium bulb, ... comes with a shutter (controlled via a TTL ... The DH-2000 Deuterium Tungsten Halogen Light Source ... halogen light sources in a single optical path. ...
... OPTIMA is a fully automated microplate ... the widest possible range of applications ... gene assays luciferase, -galactosidase, gene activities ... dioxetanes..) Luminescent Immunoassays Cell-based ...
One controller two vessel system suitable for early stage of fermentation, and small scale, Application : cultivation of microorganisms and human or animal cells...
Biology Products: