JBEI gets results from proteomics in switchgrass varieties

In California, if advanced biofuels are to replace gasoline, diesel and jet fuel on a gallon-for-gallon basis at competitive pricing, we’re going to need a new generation of fuel crops – plants designed specifically to serve as feedstocks for fuels. Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) have demonstrated the power of a new ally in this effort – proteomics!

In a study led by Benjamin Schwessinger, a grass geneticist with JBEI’s Feedstocks Division, researchers used advanced proteomic techniques to identify 1,750 unique proteins in shoots of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), a North American native prairie grass that is widely viewed as one of the most promising of all the fuel crop candidates.