Imaging Technique Probes Plant Cell Structure to Screen for Better Biofuel Crops

Emily Smith, a researcher from the Ames Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy and a chemistry professor at the Iowa State University, has recently described a method for screening for better biofuel crops, which is based on a light scattering technique.  According to the Ames Laboratory press release, Smith “plans to use Raman spectroscopy  to study plant cell structure and to determine which crops offer the right combination of cell wall composition and degradation” for maximum bioconversion to bioethanol. 

Simply put, the Raman technique focuses a beam of laser light on the sample (i.e., the plant material).  The beamed laser light interacts with the plant material, resulting in the scattering of light at frequencies and wavelengths that are characteristic of the molecular state of the sample.  The analysis of these “light scattering signatures” provides the tools for the screening of biofuel crops. Smith will use the technique to determine the lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose contents of cellulosic biofuel feedstocks such as switchgrass, Miscanthus, poplar trees, and willow trees.  With this technique, plants with low lignin contents can be identified.  Lignin is a component of plants that hampers the effective enzymatic conversion of cellulose to sugars for ethanol fermentation. In addition, the study of the changes of lignin in plants over time, can help determine of the optimal harvest time for a given biofuel crop.

Related Links: 
Brief tutorial about Raman spectroscopy and its applications: http://www.jobinyvon.com/usadivisions/Raman/tutorial1.htm