Lignin is a key obstacle to extracting sugars from biomass. Researchers have redesigned lignin to include weak bonds, or “zips,” which make it much easier to break apart. Credit: Shawn Mansfield, UBC
Who We Are
The Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) is a U.S. Department of Energy-funded Bioenergy Research Center led by the University of Wisconsin–Madison. With Michigan State University and other partners, we are developing sustainable biofuels and bioproducts made from dedicated energy crops grown on marginal lands. Our mission is simple: creating biofuels and bioproducts that are economically viable and environmentally sustainable.
Research Themes
Sustainable cropping systems
Engineering bioenergy crops to enhance their environmental and economic value
GLBRC News
Rebecca Smith uses genetic tools to develop plants that can be digested more easily. The outcomes could be greater efficiency for biofuel production and lower methane emissions from dairy cows.
Fong Liew is a graduate student in Brian Fox’s biochemistry lab, where she works in collaboration with Tim Donohue’s bacteriology lab on converting lignin, one of the main components of plant cell walls, into valuable industrial chemicals.