Michigan State University (MSU) is using a $540,000 federal grant to create a Web-based genomic database of information on crops that can be used to make ethanol.
A genomic database details the molecular biology and genetics of a particular species. Making this information available worldwide will help create better biofuel crops, says C. Robin Buell, associate professor of plant biology and project leader.
"Right now, about half of the biofuel crops don't have genomic databases, and the ones that do are in many different places and are annotated differently, which makes it difficult to compare and use the information," Buell says.
The federal Department of Agriculture and the Department of Energy gave $540,000 to MSU for the centralization project.
"Our biofuel genomic database portal will include information on any crop that can be used to produce cellulosic ethanol, including all the grasses such as corn, rice, maize, wheat and other biofuel species such as poplar, willow and pine," Buell says. "This will save researchers a lot of effort, so we expect it to be a valuable resource for scientists at MSU and around the world."
Source: MSU
Ivy Hughes, development news editor, can be reached here.
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