URBANA – A $1.2 million U.S. Department of Energy grant will help University of Illinois researchers accelerate genetic breeding programs to create plants better suited for bioenergy production.
"Our ultimate goal is to develop better, cheaper biofuels," said Matthew Hudson, U of I associate professor in crop sciences and member of the Energy Biosciences Institute in the Institute for Genomic Biology. "In this project, we will be looking at the possibility that small RNAs are involved in controlling the deposition and quality of lignocellulosic biomass in grasses, especially Miscanthus."
Only recently have researchers discovered the importance of small RNAs as regulatory molecules in controlling the size, shape and composition of biofuel crops, Hudson added. RNAs are molecules that transfer both function and information from the genome to the rest of the cell.
"We are hoping to find a way to use genetics to alter the balance of cellulose to lignin, and the deposition of cellulose," he said.
More specifically, his team hopes to identify small RNA elements that regulate deposition of the cell wall of cells in the plant stem, a critical process in biomass production. They also plan to investigate the involvement of small RNA in processes that underlie traits critical to regional biomass production such as flowering, maturity time, and overwintering.
The project titled "The Role of Small RNA in Biomass Deposition and Perenniality in Andropogoneae Feedstocks" will utilize the latest genome sequencing procedures and equipment to profile the expression of all the small RNA in any given plant tissue as well as all the genes that are controlled by the small RNA molecules. The team's main focus will center on Miscanthus as it has already proven to have high potential biomass yields, Hudson said. Other crops of interest include switchgrass and prairie cordgrass.
The U of I is one of seven universities receiving DOE grants in 2010. The grants will support research projects for up to three years. Research projects were selected for these prestigious grants that make the most of advanced technologies in genomics and are aimed at enhancing productivity, yield, nutrient and water utilization, and sustainability of plant feedstocks.
This investment is part of the Obama Administration's broader effort to diversify the nation's energy portfolio while accelerating the development of new energy technologies designed to decrease the nation's dependence on foreign oil.
"This is a very important proposal since it will advance genetic improvement of biomass traits of feedstock grasses dedicated to bioenergy," said Germán Bollero, head of the Department of Crop Sciences in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the U of I. "It is a great contribution to the department and the University of Illinois."
University of Illinois researchers involved in this project include Hudson, Stephen Moose and Magdy Alabady.