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Development of Cellulosic Biofuels Chris Somerville [Director of the EBI, UC Berkeley] Abstract: The earth receives approximately (More) Chris Somerville [Director of the EBI, UC Berkeley] Abstract: The earth receives approximately 4000 times as much energy from the sun each year as the total projected human energy use in 2050. Because plants can be deployed on a large scale to capture and store solar energy, I am interested in exploring the degree to which it may become possible to use photosynthesis for sustainable production of renewable carbon-neutral energy. In considering this possibility, the Secretary of Energy of the US has called for the replacement of 30% of the liquid fuels used in the US with biofuels by 2030. I will outline some of the technical issues that must be addressed in order to understand if it is possible to reach this and related goals. I will also discuss some of the areas in which I envision significant technical advances may enable evolution of the biofuels industry. Biography: Chris Somerville is the Director of the new Energy Biosciences Institute at UC Berkeley,University of Illinois and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a professor of Plant and Microbial Biology at UC Berkeley. He has published more than 200 scientific papers and patents in plant and microbial genetics, genomics, biochemistry, and biotechnology.His current research is focused on the characterization of proteins, such as cellulose synthase, implicated in plant cell wall synthesis and modification. Somerville has served as a member of the scientific advisory boards of numerous academic institutions, corporations, and private foundations in Europe and North America. He is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, The Royal Society of London and the Royal Society of Canada and has received numerous scientific awards. (Less)
IRRI's research on rice genetic diversity and discovery Hei Leung, senior scientist at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI; http://irri.org ) (More) Hei Leung, senior scientist at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI; http://irri.org ) explains the Institute's program on Rice Genetic Diversity and Discovery: meeting the needs of future generations for rice genetic resources.
This program provides the foundation for applying rice genetic diversity in the implementation of IRRI's Strategic Plan ( http://irri.org/bringinghope/improvin... ). It focuses on three themes: characterization and creation of genetic diversity, and gene-function assignment; conservation and documentation of germplasm (seeds and the genetic material they contain); and enabling access to and use of genetic diversity and associated tools.
These activities aim to solve production problems by using genetic diversity and by providing a genetic research platform that enables efficient conservation and use of genetic diversity. Thus, the program, which represents the interface between understanding and applying genetic diversity, promotes a convergence of approaches and innovations. Although the program's activities are driven by the problems IRRI seeks to solve, the research also accommodates exploratory work to serve long-term needs.
In developing a public genetic research platform, a key achievement of the program has been the production of more than 150,000 high-quality single-nucleotide polymorphisms (known as SNPs, these are small variations, such as single-base mutations, in gene sequences) across 20 rice genotypes through the OryzaSNP project, a collaborative effort coordinated by the International Rice Functional Genomics Consortium (IRFGC; http://www.iris.irri.org/IRFGC ).
To analyze grain-quality and stress-tolerance traits, we are determining the relationship between genetic diversity and phenotype—the actual form the plant takes in the field. We have also improved the efficiency with which indica rice can be transformed (in transformation, a gene or genes from another variety or species are inserted into the genome of the target variety), which will facilitate the testing of gene functions in different rice varieties. (Less)
Genetics and Genomics of the Triticeae Plant Genetics and Genomics
2009-11-19 - extension: zip - size: 5 MB
Genetics and Genomics of the Triticeae Plant Genetics and Genomics
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