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Plants and microbes are natural biochemical
factories, producing important chemicals
and materials. (Petroleum deposits
are the altered remains of prehistoric
plants and microbes.) The Office of
Science long has supported basic studies
on biochemistry and genetics that
are providing insights into how plants
and microbes can be modified to make
more products with economic value.
Christopher Somerville, while at DOE's
Plant Research Laboratory at Michigan
State University, demonstrated the
capability to transfer an alignment
of genes from bacteria to higher plants
that confer the ability to synthesize
biodegradable plastic components.
He also studied the biosynthetic pathways
for plant oils to learn what genetic
changes would produce a different
and more desirable type of oil. Research
by Lonnie Ingram at the University
of Florida focused on the regulation
of genes that play critical roles
in a bacterium's natural production
of ethanol. He engineered DNA with
genes for making two key enzymes;
not only did this DNA alter the production
pathway, but it also was incorporated
into the genetic material of numerous
other bacteria that did not normally
form ethanoland they started
to make it.
Scientific Impact:
Somerville's work represents an early
breakthrough in enhancing the use
of plants as biosynthesizers of precursors
for biodegradable plastics, which
could replace products now derived
from petroleum. Ingram's research
suggests the potential for altering
many bacteria, with many potential
growth substrates, to produce ethanol.
Social Impact: Biosynthesis
of compounds that can replace petroleum-derived
products could reduce U.S. reliance
on foreign oil. The University of
Florida patented an ethanol-producing
organism capable of growing on certain
sugars, and an ethanol plant in Louisiana
is demonstrating the commercial potential
of a process based on this research.
Reference: Buchanan,
B.B., W.Gruissem, and R.L. Jones,
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
of Plants, American Society of
Plant Physiologists (aspp@aspp.org),
2001.
URL: http://aspp.org/public_affairs/briefing/amfuels.htm
http://www.napa.ufl.edu/digest/old/1998-99/biomass.htm
Technical Contact:
Don Freeburn, Office of Basic Energy
Sciences, 301-903-3156
Press Contact: Jeff
Sherwood, DOE Office of Public Affairs,
202-586-5806
SC-Funding Office:
Office of Basic Energy Sciences |