A geneticist on the campus of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) is close to developing mutant for production that would reduce or eliminate the need to use corn to make the .
The production of s from basic plant material, rather than corn and other crops, would address concerns that making corn-based is pushing up food costs, said Mark Goebl, a professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the IU School of Medicine
Goebl's work is part of the Richard G. Lugar Center for Renewable Energy, which was established to address the societal needs for clean, affordable and s, improve the nation's energy security, and reduce global warming. Its primary mission is to promote research excellence in the area of renewable energy through collaborative efforts among faculty in the disciplines of engineering, chemistry, physics, biology, and al affairs. It will promote renewable energy applications through teaching, learning, civic engagement, and synergistic partnerships with industry, government labs and local communities.
Areas of current research include renewable energy through cell technology, renewable hydrogen (solar, reformers), ally benign usage of renewable s , bio- production and applications, and advanced battery technology.
Goebl said the crux of the problem of using basic plant material to make involves how decide what they will eat.
When corn is used to make , couldn't be happier. Corn kernels are ground to produce and the is broken down into . is then used to ferment the into .
"Although can derive energy from a lot of different carbon sources, such as s and different kinds of sugars, really, really like , the sugar found in honey," Goebl said. "That's what they will use if it's there, even if it's there only in trace amounts."
And that's where the sticking point occurs. During the process, there is always a trickle of coming into the system.
Unlike corn kernels, one-third of basic plant material consists of compounds that produce pine resins for which there are useful purposes. One- third is , which can be converted to and used to make . But one-third is another kind of sugar, xylose, which turn away from, like a child who is a picky eater pushes a vegetable to the side of his plate.
Goebl has developed strains of that will utilize the xylose, even if is around.
"How do you get to give up their habit of using only , no matter what else is around?" Goebl asked. The answer, he continued, is genetics.
" essentially care about because they are genetically programmed that way, not because there is any physiological reason they have to care about ," he said. "We can genetically change that program. We are using genetics to modify strains so that they will use other sugars just as well as ."
Producing mutant strains that will eat xylose just as well as means nearly doubling the amount of you get from the same volume of basic plant material. "You get a lot more for the same amount of work."
Another advantage of reducing or eliminating the need to use corn to make is that the rich farmland needed to grow corn isn't needed to grow basic plant material. "Essentially, you can go out and mow your lawn."