Transgenic Poplars (Populus sp.) Developed for Easier Degradation in Biofuel Production

Engineering biomass for easier degradation was an idea coined 20 years ago in the lab of John Ralph, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor. Ralph's group was then aiming to reduce energy needed in paper pulping through efficient removal of lignin from trees. Removing and processing lignin, the sturdy polymer in plant cell walls, remains a major obstacle in the biofuels industry.

Curtis Wilkerson, a plant biologist from Michigan State University, led a team of researchers in a study that focuses on enhancing poplar (Populus sp.) trees to break down easier thus improving their viability as a biofuel resource. "By designing poplars for deconstruction, we can improve the degradability of a very useful biomass product. Poplars are dense, easy to store, and they flourish on marginal lands not suitable for food crops, making them a non-competing and sustainable source of biofuel." according to Wilkerson.

To produce these enhanced poplars, Wilkerson identified and isolated a gene capable of making monomers that are easier to break apart. Shawn Mansfield, from the University of British Columbia, then successfully put that gene into poplars. This gene then introduced weak links into the lignin backbone making more easily degradable poplars.