CSU receives grant to improve sorghum as sustainable biofuel source

FORT COLLINS — Colorado State University is one of 10 institutions participating in a $13.8 million government-funded research project to improve sorghum as a sustainable source for biofuel production, the university announced Monday.

Most U.S. biofuels are made from corn, but some sorghum varieties create more biomass for cellulosic ethanol, making it a top contender to replace corn-based biofuels and relieve pressure on an important global food source, according to a CSU prepared statement.

Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the five-year project will study how plants and microbes interact, and which sorghum plants grow better with less water and nitrogen.

CSU is working with scientists at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Danforth Plant Science Center, Washington State University, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Boyce Thompson Institute, Clemson University, Iowa State University and the DOE-Joint Genome Institute.

Researchers will investigate sorghum genetics, as well as the soil microbes that interact with plants.

Jessica Prenni, director of the Proteomics and Metabolomics Facility and associate professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, is co-investigator on the project. Her team will lead the metabolomics arm of the study.

on Facebook on LinkedIn