In Michigan, researchers at the MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory have found that chloroplast not only is responsible for photosynthesis but also plays a role in seed oil production which could be manipulated to boost oil yields and therefore increase biofuel production efficiency. The process could boost yields as much as 10% but some bugs in the process need to be sorted out as in some cases boosting the enzyme responsible for the increased oil yields led to a defense mechanism that achieved the opposite result.
Category: Research