Scientists Aim to Improve Pennycress for Use as Feedstock
September 7, 2016https://news.illinoisstate.edu/2016/09/redbird-scholars-receive-grants-to-domesticate-pennycress-expand-pre-k/
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Illinois State Associate Professor of Genetics John Sedbrook was awarded a $1 million grant by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to develop genetic resources that can be used to domesticate field pennycress.
Pennycress has agronomic and economic potential due to its extreme cold tolerance and natural ability to produce abundant amounts of oil-rich seeds. Previous studies have indicated that pennycress could yield as much as 80 gallons of oil for fuels and industrial products. Sedbrook and colleagues will be working to improve the seed germination, the crop establishment of pennycress as well as its pod shattering.
New genetic tools, along with scientific knowledge and the funding, will allow researchers to make genetic improvements to pennycress. The goal of the project is to domesticate and commercialize pennycress in a relatively shorter span of years compared to the domestication of rice and corn.
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