DNA breakthrough heralds biofuels advance
Published: September 19, 2006
Scientists’ success in mapping the genome sequence of a poplar tree is being heralded as a breakthrough in the development of biofuels, as well as a major step towards technology to greatly increase the productivity of plantations.
More than 100 researchers at 34 institutions mostly in the US have taken four years to map the DNA of the fast-growing cotton blackwood poplar, native to the Pacific coastline of North America.
These poplars grow up to 12 feet per year, mature in as little as four years, and can eventually top out at over 100 feet. This makes them a great candidate for commercial plantations. The study found there were 93 genes associated with cellulose production in the trees.
Developing processes to extract biofuel material from the cellulose found in the cell walls in all plants is seen as the future for biofuel production. In this way, potentially many more plants could be used to make biofuels than the limited number of crops now used for their high oil and sugar content.
Rather than genetic modification, traditional breeding methods would be used to concentrate the incidence of favourable cellulose genes in plantation trees. The US Department of Energy funded the research as part of its push to meet a national target of 30 per cent biofuel usage by 2030.
Stephen DiFazio, a co-author of the paper just published in the journal Science, said gene mapping in plants is greatly accelerating the knowledge of forest tree biology “and is paving the way for marked improvements in forest plantation productivity that could rival those of the green revolution in agriculture”.
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