Maximizing the Biofuel Potential of Sweet Sorghum and Sugar Cane

Dr. Lee Tarpley, plant physiologist in Texas A&M University in Beaumont, and College Station colleague, Dr. Don Vietor, professor of crop physiology, are focusing their research on sweet sorghum as a potential source of bioethanol. Although sweet sorghum and sugar cane are close relatives, they exhibit different mechanisms in reusing stored sugar. Through the tracer technology, labeled sucrose is introduced in sweet sorghum plants, and researchers are able to track the subsequent movement and distribution of the sucrose molecules.

Sweet sorghum appears to be more efficient in reusing the stored sugar to support growth of other parts of the plant. The mechanisms in sugarcane, however, allow it to accumulate very high levels of sucrose. "The differences are critical, and need to be understood for breeders to develop new varieties specifically for the biofuel industry," Tarpley said. Sweet sorghum and sugarcane are both well suited for this purpose.

Check-out the news article at: http://agnews.tamu.edu/dailynews/stories/FUEL/Sep1107a.htm. The study results were published in the June 2007 issue of BMC Plant Biology (http://www.biomedcentral.com).