In Washington state, WSU researchers are looking at ways to grow the valuable chemical 2-phenylethanol—the chemical that gives roses their scent and is used in perfumes—inside the leaves and branches of poplars. The project began in response to an attempt to use woody poplars as biofuel feedstock but the low prices for fuels didn’t compensate […]
In Belgium, the results of a field trial with genetically modified poplar trees in Zwijnaarde, Belgium, shows that the wood of lignin modified poplar trees can be converted into sugars in a more efficient way. These sugars can serve as the starting material for producing bio-based products like bio-plastics and bio-ethanol. The field trial however […]
In China, researchers from Lanzhou University, BGI and other institutes have succeeded in unraveling the whole genome sequence of desert poplar, Populus euphratica, and the genetic bases underlying poplar to against salt stress. This work provides new insights for understanding the genetic basis of tree adaptation to salt stress and facilitating the genetic breeding of […]
In California, the US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) is working to isolate the “evergreen” locus in peaches, which extends the growing season of the plant. Said Daniel Rokhsar, head of the DOE JGI Eukaryotic Program, “In theory, it could be manipulated in poplar to increase the accumulation of biomass.” Peach genes […]
In Indiana, researchers at Purdue University have begun a five-year research project that will explore the use of poplar trees as feedstock for cellulosic ethanol, including 69 varieties of the tree, which will be studied for appropriateness as a feedstock. Between their very fast growth rate and the fact that they’re vegetatively propagated, meaning that […]
ZeaChem announced it has signed a long-term binding term sheet with GreenWood Tree Farm Fund, managed by GreenWood Resources, to supply hybrid poplar woody biomass for its first commercial cellulosic biorefinery. ZeaChem will integrate feedstock from a portion of GTFF’s residual fiber with local agricultural residue suppliers to achieve feedstock costs 50% less compared to […]
In Canada, researchers funded by Genome BC, Natural Resource Canada’s Genomics Research and Development Initiative and the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation are working to identify genes that control how rust fungi infect plants and hosts, and which genes in the host can help fight rusts. These efforts will help end-users in the agriculture […]
In California, a research team led by Mascoma co-founder Charles Wyman, concluded that sugar release from poplar trees increases dramatically when the tree has a high ratio of syringyl and guaiacyl, two lignin subunits. Further, the researchers found that certain poplar samples that produced unusually high sugar yields with no pretreatment. Reducing pretreatment would represent […]
In Georgia, During the BioPro Expo in Atlanta, ArborGen and GreenWood Resources announced a strategic business alliance that will bring together the science and technology of two of the world’s leaders in tree resource management, to meet the growing demand for woody biomass with purpose grown hardwood trees in the Southeastern United States. This partnership […]
In Wisconsin, The Badger Herald reported that the Wisconsin Energy Institute is researching methods to convert biological matter into fuel and plastics, with intentions to replace fossil fuels. Biofuels are created using biological material to convert their sugars into a fuel compound — many having diverse renewable energy applications, associate director of the Wisconsin Energy […]
