MSU biofuel research rooted in rutabagas

LSJ.com (Lansing State Journal)
Matthew Miller • mrmiller@lsj.com • August 19, 2008 • From Lansing State Journal

EAST LANSING - If everything goes according to plan, the genetically modified rutabagas growing in a greenhouse across the street from Christoph Benning's Michigan State University laboratory could have a consistency something like avocados. Squishy. Oily. Just a little more purple.

Benning and his fellow researchers have inserted a gene called wrinkled1 into the rutabagas that regulates the conversion of carbohydrates into oil.

The hope is that the gene will make the rutabagas produce oil rather than starch inside their bulbous roots, turning these cold-resistant root vegetables into a viable biofuel crop for Michigan. It will be at least six months before Benning, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, knows for sure.

Plant oils are among the best potential sources of biofuel. They're rich in energy, easy to extract and convert.

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