Breeding better grasses for food and fuel

Researchers from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) Sustainable Bioenergy Centre (BSBEC) have discovered a family of genes that could help us breed grasses with improved properties for diet and bioenergy.

The research was carried out by a team from the University of Cambridge and Rothamsted Research, which receives strategic funding from BBSRC. Their findings are published this week (Tuesday 17 Jan) in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
 
The genes are important in the development of the fibrous, woody parts of grasses, like rice and wheat. The team hopes that by understanding how these genes work, they might for example be able to breed varieties of cereals where the fibrous parts of the plants confer dietary benefits or crops whose straw requires less energy-intensive processing in order to produce biofuels.

Read the full story

Image: Plant cells, like these in wheat, are surrounded by thick walls where energy is locked up.  Rowan Mitchell, Rothamsted Research

 

Reproduced courtesy University of Cambridge Office of Communications

 



Looking for something specific?