How stick insects handle indigestive food
Plant cell walls are comprised of many complex polymers that require multiple different enzymes to fully break down, such as cellulase to digest cellulose and xylanase to digest xylan. For decades...
View ArticlePlant cell wall development revealed in space and time for the first time
Scientists have mapped changes in composition of plant cell walls over space and time, providing new insights into the development and growth of all plants.
View ArticleWeed stems ripe for biofuel
A weedy plant found on the roadside in northern Australia has stems ripe for biofuel production.
View ArticleInnovative process produces biodegradable cellulose-based films
Purdue University researchers have developed tough, flexible, biodegradable films from cellulose, the main component of plant cell walls. The films could be used for products such as food packaging,...
View ArticleChemistry lessons from bacteria may improve biofuel production
If you're made of carbon, precious few things are as important to life as death.
View ArticleNew understanding of cellulose could lead to tailored biofuels
In the search for low emission plant-based fuels, new research may help avoid having to choose between growing crops for food or fuel.
View ArticleBetter understanding could lead to more cost-effective production of...
Plant cell walls, which constitute the bulk of plant biomass, are diverse, complex, and dynamic in their structural composition and integrity. Cell walls are innately resistant to deconstruction by...
View ArticleA new tool to study plant cell biomechanics
We know that within every living plant there are millions of cells working together in a wonderfully complex harmony. But what we don't know is, within each of these cells, what exactly is going on....
View ArticleNew insight into how plants make cellulose
A Manchester and Dundee collaboration has found out more about one of the most abundant biological substances on the planet.
View ArticleGenetic comparisons provide insight into the evolution of a crucial filament...
Divergent evolutionary pathways in different domains of life have resulted in distinct filament systems that underlie cellular structure and polymerizing-protein motors, according to A*STAR...
View ArticleModelling water uptake in wood opens up new design framework
Analytical approach could accelerate the development of new preservation treatments delivering environmental benefits and help in the design of bio-inspired smart actuators.
View ArticleGenes identified in defence against powdery mildew
An international research team has identified two genes which could help protect barley against powdery mildew attack.
View ArticleGreenWood Resources licenses ORNL invention to boost biofuel yield
GreenWood Resources has licensed an Oak Ridge National Laboratory technology based on the discovery of a gene in poplar (Populus trichocarpa) that makes it easier to convert poplar trees into biofuels.
View ArticleWith designer lignin, biofuels researchers reproduced evolutionary path
When scientists reported in 2014 that they had successfully engineered a poplar plant "designed for deconstruction," the finding made international news. The highly degradable poplar, the first of its...
View ArticleHomes storing CO2, just like trees
Houses built with bio-based materials, such as timber, straw and hemp, act as CO2 banks. Experts explain how citizens can become custodians of atmospheric carbon dioxide and thus help reduce air pollution
View ArticleLargest Populus SNP dataset holds promise for biofuels, materials, metabolites
Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have released the largest-ever single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) dataset of genetic variations in poplar trees,...
View ArticleEnzyme shows promise for efficiently converting plant biomass to biofuels
To make biofuels, tiny microbes can be used to break down plant cells. As part of that digestive process, specialized enzymes break down cellulose—a major molecule that makes plant cell walls rigid....
View ArticlePlant cell walls' stretch-but-don't-break growth more complex than once thought
Plant cell wall growth is typically described as a simple process, but researchers using a microscope that can resolve images on the nanoscale level have observed something more complex.
View ArticleQuantifying changes in surface chemistry of woody plants during microbial...
A bottleneck to breaking down woody plants for use in biofuels or other products may occur at the plant cell wall's surface, according to a new Oak Ridge National Laboratory study.
View ArticleA better dye job for roots—in plants
Once we start coloring our hair, we may be surprised to learn that we begin to have a problem in common with plant biologists: finding the right dye for our roots. In the case of the biologists, just...
View ArticleUnderstanding why cellulose resists degradation could lead to cost-effective...
A major bottleneck hindering cost-effective production of biofuels and many valuable chemicals is the difficulty of breaking down cellulose—an important structural component of plant cell walls. A...
View ArticleNew approach to unlock the genetic potential of plant cell wall
Researchers from the University of York and the Quadram Institute have unlocked the genetic secrets of plant cell walls, which could help improve the quality of plant-based foods.
View ArticleSpinning plant waste into carbon fiber for cars, planes
Using plants and trees to make products such as paper or ethanol leaves behind a residue called lignin, a component of plant cell walls. That leftover lignin isn't good for much and often gets burned...
View ArticleEnzyme's worth to biofuels shown in latest research
An enzyme discovered at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) proves adept at breaking down cellulose fibers regardless of whether their crystalline...
View ArticleWhite rot fungi's size explained by breadth of gene families involved
Among the contenders for the world's largest living organism is something usually considered much smaller than a blue whale, or a towering sequoia. This particular organism is so big, one needs an...
View ArticleWhy plants form sprouts in the dark
A signal from the cell wall decides that, in the dark, seeds grow into long yellow sprouts, instead of turning green and forming leaves. The signal that switches on the darkness programme in seedling...
View ArticleStudy speeds transformation of biofuel waste into useful chemicals
A Sandia National Laboratories-led team has demonstrated faster, more efficient ways to turn discarded plant matter into chemicals worth billions. The team's findings could help transform the economics...
View ArticleMicrobial resident enables beetles to feed on a leafy diet
An international team including researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology has described a bacterium residing in a species of leaf beetles which has an unexpected feature: it...
View ArticleHow plants form their seeds
Vegetable, fruit, or grain – the majority of our food results from plant reproduction. Researchers at UZH have now discovered the key to how plants regulate pollen growth and seed formation. In...
View ArticleLess chewing the cud, more greening the fuel
Plant biomass contains considerable calorific value but most of it makes up robust cell walls, an unappetising evolutionary advantage that helped grasses to survive foragers and prosper for more than...
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