A new study from the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center describes a complete lignin-to-bioproduct pipeline that could produce high yields of a target chemical with high potential value as a platform chemical to make adhesives, plastics, and other biopolymers.
This study examines the role of lipids in the relationship between leaf-cutter ants and the fungi they cultivate. Both the ants and the fungi benefit, and the organisms co-evolved to create this symbiotic relationship. This type of fungal metabolic regulation could be harnessed to develop microbial systems for sustainable bioproduct production.
Kevin Myers has been virtually visiting with students all over the country through the Skype a Scientist program, which gives classes and other groups the opportunity to talk with scientists. We sat down with him to hear his reflections on the experience.
In an exciting collaboration between Bruno Basso, Michigan State University Foundation Professor, and Kristofer Covey, assistant professor of Environmental Studies and Sciences at Skidmore College in New York, farmers in the United States will have an opportunity to
In the coming years, agriculture will be called on to feed a growing population, while reducing its greenhouse gas emissions and making better use of increasingly scarce resources. To do this, the current agricultural system must adapt. Bruno Basso discusses his work in this context.
Our graduate students and postdoctoral researchers play an enormous role in the transition to a sustainable, resilient, and affordable energy future that is centered on social and economic equality. This week we spoke with Shannon Goes, a graduate student assistant in Shannon Stahl’s lab at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Julia Martien, a fifth-year PhD student in microbiology at UW–Madison, has been named the 2021 winner of the Jennifer L. Reed Bioenergy Science Award. She researches how environmental stressors may shift the metabolism of Zymomonas mobilis to produce higher levels of bioproducts that can be used to make useful chemicals and fuels.
Developing sustainable, low-carbon fuels and industrial products is one of society’s greatest challenges. For the past 14 years, the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC), based at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, has been innovating advances toward a society powered by renewable chemicals and fuels derived from non-food plants.
An extensive review, published by researchers at the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center and Wisconsin Energy Institute in the journal Advances in Ecological Research, explores the potential to design agricultural landscapes that support both crop production and biodiversity.
As the climate warms, many scientists and farmers have worried about how rising temperatures will affect agricultural systems and crop yields. Warmer air may increase evaporation and water loss from plants. This has led to concerns that crops will require more water—either from precipitation or irrigation—in a warmer future.
Our graduate students and postdoctoral researchers play an enormous role in the transition to a sustainable, resilient, and affordable energy future that is centered on social and economic equality. From lab experiments to field work to classrooms, these leaders of today and tomorrow are our catalysts for energy discovery.
