UGA researchers’ gene map to speed biofuel development

Smartplanet.com
By Ina Damm Muri February 26, 2012, 5:47 AM PST

Researchers at the University of Georgia have mapped the genomes of a large perennial grass that can be used as a source for bio-energy, EarthSky reports.

Miscanthus, a candidate for biomass farming, is a sugar-cane like stalks that can grow more than 12 feet in height, requires little fertilizer and grows well in moist temperate climates across the United States, Europe and in Asia. In Eastern Europe, it can produce more biomass on less surface areas than any other bio-fuel crops. Researchers say the crop is carbon neutral because it removes carbon from the atmosphere when it grows and only releases the carbon it collected when it is burned.

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