In Michigan, scientists ask, what do poplar trees, sharks and biofuels have in common? While it might sound a bit like a riddle, a team led by Michigan State University biochemists has reported exciting findings concerning all three in the quest for cleaner energy. Published in the Plant Biotechnology Journal, the team’s latest paper explores […]
In China, image-based plant phenotyping has become crucial in understanding plant biology and agriculture. However, distinguishing relevant biological structures from the background remains a challenge, particularly in low-contrast situations. While deep learning has enhanced feature extraction in computer vision, its application in plant phenotyping is hindered by the need for extensive image annotation. To address this, […]
In Georgia, UGA Today reported that a multidisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Georgia and two partner institutions have been awarded a $15.8 million grant over five years from the U.S. Department of Energy to reengineer poplar trees to be used as a sustainable energy source. The researchers will use state-of the-art biotechnology […]
In Maryland, University of Maryland researcher was awarded $2.6 million by the U.S. Department of Energy to investigate the genetics underlying how poplar trees sense nutrients and regulate their metabolism—information that could help farmers maximize yields of this and other plants used in biofuel production. Dedicated biomass crops like poplar, switchgrass, miscanthus and bamboo are […]
In Tennessee, an Oak Ridge National Laboratory team has successfully introduced a poplar gene into switchgrass, an important biofuel source, that allows switchgrass to interact with a beneficial fungus, ultimately boosting the grass’s growth and viability in changing environments. Scientists observed the ectomycorrhizal fungus Laccaria bicolor as it enveloped the plant’s roots. This behavior, not […]
In Washington, poplar trees are widely used in commercial products, but, like several other tree species, they emit gases to the atmosphere that worsen air pollution and alter climate. Now field trials in Oregon and Arizona show that poplar trees, which emit trace amounts of the gas isoprene, can be genetically modified to leave air […]
In California, researchers at UC Davis are stressing out poplar plants on purpose by elevating temperatures, lowering water access and seeing how they can redesign poplar to withstand the added stresses. Poplar provides a fast-growing woody feedstock for biofuels and the rising frequency of these stressful periods inspires a race to find more tolerant plants. […]
In Georgia, a research team led by the University of Georgia has discovered that manipulation of the same gene in poplar trees and switchgrass produced plants that grow better and are more efficiently converted to biofuels. In a paper published recently in Nature Biotechnology, the researchers report that reducing the activity of a specific gene […]
In Maryland, the Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research (IBBR) has been awarded a $1.1 million U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grant to elucidate the mechanism of rust pathogenesis in poplar in an effort to engineer durable resistance for this important, second generation biofuel crop. The aim of the three-year project is to investigate the molecular […]
In Washington state, a University of Washington team is trying to make poplar a viable competitor by testing the production of younger poplar trees that could be harvested more frequently — after only two or three years — instead of the usual 10- to 20-year cycle. The team is the first to try converting the […]
