by S. Heather Duncan | Apr 5, 2022 | featured
Researchers working with the Center for Bioenergy Innovation have engineered a microbe to better produce lactic acid, which is valuable both economically and environmentally. A bacterium that was improved using laboratory-assisted evolution could eventually help...
by S. Heather Duncan | Apr 4, 2022 | featured
Serendipita fungus has a special relationship with plants. When it colonizes the roots of switchgrass, the fungus does not hurt the plant. In fact, it has been shown to increase the plant’s drought tolerance, seed germination and yield. But the signaling between the...
by S. Heather Duncan | Apr 4, 2022 | Uncategorized
Because next-generation biofuels will depend on the growth and hardiness of woody feedstocks, scientists have sought to better understand how leaf cells quickly respond to environmental cues such as light, temperature and water. These rapid responses take the form of...
by S. Heather Duncan | Mar 30, 2022 | featured
Scientists collaborating through the Center for Bioenergy Innovation have identified a microbial pathway responsible for breaking down the tough components of feedstocks used to make biofuel. Lignin, a complex polymer that gives plant cell walls their structure and...
by S. Heather Duncan | Mar 23, 2022 | featured
Scientists collaborating through the Center for Bioenergy Innovation (CBI) have found that small modifications to a single gene can improve the potential for producing ethanol from poplar trees. Researchers wanted to understand how a gene called KNAT7, which had been...
