Popping the Cork on Biofuel Agriculture

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory have identified an enzyme responsible for the formation of suberin - the woody, waxy, cell-wall substance found in cork. While effective at keeping wine inside a bottle, suberin’s most important function in plants is to control water and nutrient transportation and keep pathogens out. Adjusting the permeability of plant tissues by genetically manipulating the expression of this enzyme could lead to easier agricultural production of crops used for biofuels. The research was led by Brookhaven biologists Chang-Jun Liu and Jin-Ying Gou.

Suberin is mostly located in the cell walls of seed and root systems. It moderates the substances that pass into the organism, acting as a barrier to harmful substances and microorganisms while facilitating the intake and storage of water and other nutrients.
Harnessing the mechanism responsible for suberin production might therefore allow scientists to create crop breeds tailored to thrive in specific - even harsh - environments, an important milestone on the road toward economically efficient biofuel production.
If certain breeds can be created that are more adept at absorbing and storing water and nutrients, the crops could be farmed in much drier climates - maybe even the desert. In addition, the team’s finding that modifications in suberin phenolic production can alter plants’ tolerance to salt suggests that the newly-identified gene might be used to generate crops able to grow under salty conditions.

These approaches to biofuel agriculture would leave more fertile land open for food crops, helping to strike a much-needed balance between the nutrition and energy needs of the world.