Michigan State University (MSU) researchers have discovered a protein that could ultimately change the face of biofuel production by creating plant varieties specifically tailored for biofuel production.
The scientists uncovered trigalactosyldiacylglycerol 4 (TGD4), a protein necessary for chloroplast development. Chloroplasts are specialized compartments in plant cells that convert sunlight, carbon dioxide and water into sugars and oxygen during photosynthesis. TGD4 gives scientists a look at how this process works.
"Nobody knew how this mechanism worked before we described this protein," says Christoph Benning, MSU professor of biochemistry and molecular biology. "This protein directly affects photosynthesis and how plants create biomass (stems, leaves and stalks) and oils."
Understanding how TGD4 works may allow scientists to create plants that would be used exclusively to produce biofuels, possibly making the process more cost-effective. Most plants that are used to produce oils — corn, soybeans and canola, for example — accumulate the oil in their seeds.
"We've found that if the TGD4 protein is malfunctioning, the plant then accumulates oil in its leaves," Benning says. "If the plant is storing oil in its leaves, there could be more oil per plant, which could make production of biofuels such as biodiesel more efficient. More research is needed so we can completely understand the mechanism of operation."
This research was published in the August 2008 issue of journal "The Plant Cell."
Source: MSU Newsroom
Ivy Hughes, development news editor, can be reached here.
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