RiceNet genetic model to speed development of advanced biofuels

In California, the first genome-scale model for predicting the functions of genes and gene networks in a grass species has been developed by an international team of researches that includes scientists with the  Joint BioEnergy Institute.  Called RiceNet, this systems-level model of rice gene interactions should help speed the development of new crops for the production of advanced biofuels.

“With RiceNet, instead of working on one gene at a time based on data from a single experimental set, we can predict the function of entire networks of genes, as well as entire genetic pathways that regulate a particular biological process,” says Pamela Ronald, a plant geneticist with JBEI.