K-State scientists have received a grant to advance biofuel production and agricultural economics
A five-year cooperative grant from the US Department of Energy
Kansas State University researchers are part of a five-year joint grant from the US Department of Energy to improve oilseed crops for use as biofuels and other bioproducts. (photo from file)
MANHATTAN, Kan. — Researchers at Kansas State University are participating in a five-year joint grant from US Department of Energy improve oilseed crops for use as biofuels and other bioproducts.
Timothy DurrettAssociate Professor of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, and Ruth Weltyemeritus professor of biology at the university, received nearly $1.9 million to better understand how changing the biochemistry of oil plants alters their oil production.
The research team is working with safflower and watercress, non-edible oilseed crops that farmers can use as cover crops. Darrett says these plants have not benefited from breeding that has increased the yield of other crops. This research will help scientists better understand how plants synthesize fatty acids to produce lipids, while improving oil production and crop profitability.
As part of the collaboration, Durrett is working on more efficient production of transgenic plants. Current research methods alter the biochemistry of plants at random locations in their DNA, and Darrett hopes to make the process of genetic engineering more predictable and efficient.
“We will be implementing advanced synthetic plant biology,” Durrett said. “If we can insert the genetic change in the same place every time, it makes it much easier to test the effect. By understanding the basic biochemical concepts of plants, we can apply them to other types of plants.”
Welty, director of St Kansas Lipid Research Center at K-State is analyzing how oils change in altered plants.
“In my lab, I can get a snapshot of how plants respond to changes that are introduced genetically,” Welty said. “This project will really help scientists understand the general principles and rules of fatty acid and oil production in oil plants.”
The researchers emphasized that ryegrass and pennycress can be integrated into traditional crop rotations and do not interfere with food production.
“When we produce biofuels or bioproducts, we don’t want to compete with food production,” Durrett said. “The cover crop itself will protect the soil from wind and runoff, but with these oil crops, farmers also get additional income.”
The project’s principal investigator is Edgar Cahoon, the George Holmes Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. The project team also includes researchers from the University of Colorado at Boulder, Washington State University, Montana State University, the University of Minnesota, the University of Missouri and the Donald Danforth Plant Breeding Center.
– Kansas State University
https://www.morningagclips.com/k-state-scientists-receive-collaborative-grant-to-advance-biofuel-production-agricultural-economy/ K-State scientists have received a grant to advance biofuel production and agricultural economics
