ISU researchers pushing forward with pennycress domestication research

In Illinois, Illinois State University researchers in the School of Biological Sciences are genetically modifying pennycress as part of a multistate, multi-institutional effort funded by a five-year, $10 million USDA grant and a $13 million Department of Energy grant.

The researchers are attempting to transform the plant into a commercially grown cover crop that would be a boon to farmers and the environment. The harvested plant would be processed into biofuel, jet fuel, animal feed, and other products.

This research has been ongoing for 10 years with the latest grant awarded in 2020. Illinois State researchers are currently working under the umbrella of the Integrated Pennycress Research Enabling Farm and Energy Resilience (IPREFER) program with colleagues at Western Illinois University, the University of Minnesota, The Ohio State University, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, and the St. Louis-based crop development company CoverCress Inc.

Researchers are using plant breading and the CRISPR gene-editing tool to modify pennycress seeds to make them edible, more nutritious, and resilient to climate change. One team has also worked to improve seed germination and crop establishment and has genetically fixed pennycress’ “pod shatter” problem, which resulted in about 20 percent of the seeds falling to the ground before they could be harvested.