Genomic Science Program. Click to return to home page.
Department of Energy Office of Science. Click to visit main DOE SC site.

2008 Awardee

Genomics of Wood Formation and Cellulosic Biomass Traits in Sunflower

INVESTIGATORS: Steven J. Knapp, Jeffrey Dean, Joseph Nain, Laura Marek, and Mark Davis

INSTITUTION: University of Georgia, Iowa State University, and the DOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: Sunflower is a North American native plant which thrives in semi-arid and arid habitats and produces high biomass yields in cultivation when water and other inputs are non-limiting. While sunflower is a globally important oilseed grown on 24 million hectares worldwide, and is primarily known to US consumers as an ornamental and confectionery plant, this species has significant potential for biofuel production. Several wild species produce woody stems with chemical properties similar to poplar and are excellent sources of natural genetic diversity for enhancing cellulosic biomass yields and wood production in sunflower.

OBJECTIVES: Our research focuses on assessing the chemical, physical, and biofuel properties of cellulosic biomass materials produced by sunflower, identifying genes important for wood formation and cellulosic biomass yield, and developing genetic and genomic resources for manipulating cellulosic biomass traits in sunflower breeding programs.

APPROACHES: The goals of this research will be accomplished by tapping genetic diversity for wood formation and cellulosic biomass yield in two wood-producing, drought tolerant, desert-dwelling wild species (silverleaf and Algodones dune sunflower). Cellulosic biomass hybrids can be developed by combining the outstanding agronomic characteristics of modern oilseed hybrids with the cellulosic biomass yields of ultra-late flowering, very tall-growing, very high biomass, wood-producing ecotypes of silverleaf or dune sunflower. Sunflower is naturally drought tolerant, can be produced on marginal lands, and complements many of the grass and grain species presently targeted for cellulosic biomass feedstock production

PROJECT CONTACT:
Name: Steven J. Knapp
Phone: 706-542-4021
Fax: 706-584-8120
Email: sjknapp@uga.edu

Now Featuring

2012 Genomic Science Awardee Meeting X Abstracts


report cover

Applications of New DOE National User Facilities in Biology report


Biosystems Design: Report from the July 2011 Workshop


News

Reports

Funding

Research

Genomic Science-Related BER Research Highlights

  • Switchgrass Sequencing Provides Insight into Genome Structure and Organization [Apr 12, 2012]
    Perennial switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is capable of producing high biomass yields wi [more...]
  • Understanding How Bacteria Use Sunlight [Apr 05, 2012]
    Cyanobacteria are prime candidates for the biological production of biofuels, especially hydrogen [more...]
  • Using Systems Biology to Understand Complex Microbial Communities [Mar 27, 2012]
    The ability to effectively model and predict integrated functional properties across complex grou [more...]
  • Microbes Stress Out During Conversion of Pretreated Biomass to Biofuels [Mar 02, 2012]
    Chemical pretreatment of plant biomass prior to enzymatic breakdown significantly improves the re [more...]
  • Using High-Performance Computing to Study the Hydration of Cellobiose [Feb 16, 2012]
    Cellobiose, the two glucose basic repeat unit of cellulose, is formed during enzymatic or acidic [more...]
  • More BER Research Highlights »