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Genomic Project Considers Sunflowers as Ethanol Source
Image Source: Stock.Xchng
Flowers have been used in a number of environmental projects over the past year. Toyota created 2 new species of plants to help offset their emissions. France is planning on adding a bunch of nectar-bearing flowers along their roadsides to help honey bees. Now, there is a project turning towards a giant amongst flower-kind: the sunflower.
The idea behind the Genomics of Sunflower project is the crossbreeding of a standard sunflower with the Texas Silverleaf species (one that grow up to 15 feet tall), thus creating a hybrid that will produce a vast number of edible seeds and also have thick stalks filled with complex sugars, which will be used to make ethanol. Right now, it’s estimated the project will cost $10.5 million and the first phase will be to map the DNA sequence of sunflowers.
The goal of the DNA sequence mapping is to find genes responsible for specific agricultural traits, such as seed oil content, drought, and pest tolerance. Researchers involved with this phase will be mapping the genome of the greater sunflower family, Compositae, which includes over 24,000 species of sunflowers, daisies, and other plants. It may also surprise you to learn that this family’s genome is 3.5 billion letters long—and this is actually a bit longer than the human genome.
Previous studies of the sunflower have already given way to a lot of helpful information. DNA project leader, Loren Rieseberg, and fellow researcher, Steve Knapp, discovered a trait in the flower that allows them to develop a resistance to downy mildew. This type of mildew is capable of destroying plant tissue; but to add to the discovery, the trait is also associated with a gene that develops a resistance to rust (a type of fungus).
According to the National Sunflower Association, up to 32 million metric tons of sunflowers are produced each year. With their many uses, such as snacks, cooking oil, or simple gardening, it’s no wonder sunflowers are almost a $14 billion per year industry. Combine that with the 10.6 billion gallons of ethanol produced in the US per year and you could have quite an industrial competition on your hands.
This sunflower project also has great timing. A lot of ethanol fuel comes from corn and much criticism has come from ranchers, grocers, and environmentalists about using corn for fuel. So, the ethanol industry is in need of another fuel source. One interesting thing about the DNA mapping phase is, not only will it possibly lead to a new kind of ethanol, but it can also help improve crops, lead to better weed control, and spark the creation of wood-producing species that could be used in place of trees. How? Well, according to Rieseberg, the Silverleaf is “pretty much wood from bottom to top, and yet it’s an annual”.
The project, funded by: Genome Canada, Genome BC, the US Energy and Agriculture Departments, and the french National Institute for Agricultural Research, is expected to take 4 years. In this time, scientists hope they will be able to create a basic structure for a sunflower breeding program that will have a greatly reduced hybrid development period, based on better understanding of the plants’ genes.
By Heidi Marshall
Tags: DNA sequencing, ethanol, flowers, genome, Genomics of Sunflower, hybrid, plants, project, study, sunflowers
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Very interesting article about genetic sequencing of sunflowers. Attached is a link to a documentary about the same type of project within the food industry and how it has effected farming and humans worldwide. Not so fast everyone.
http://www.hulu.com/watch/67878/the-future-of-food
I love sunflowers and so do honey bees. As I will be spending quite some time travelling France soon as I shall be looking for the evidence along each road side and hope to capture this excellent project in the making.