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Published online 18 December 2007
Published in Crop Sci 47:S-142-S-153 (2007)
© 2007 Crop Science Society of America
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Molecular Breeding to Enhance Ethanol Production from Corn and Sorghum Stover

Wilfred Vermerrisa,*, Ana Saballosb, Gebisa Ejetab, Nathan S. Mosierc, Michael R. Ladischc and Nicholas C. Carpitad

a University of Florida Genetics Institute and Agronomy Dep., Gainesville, FL 32610; Dep. of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907; Laboratory of Renewable Resources Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907
b Dep. of Agronomy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907
c Dep. of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907; Laboratory of Renewable Resources Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907
d Dep. of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907

* Corresponding author (wev{at}ufl.edu).

Political and environmental concerns have resulted in a growing interest in renewable energy, especially transportation fuels. In the United States the majority of fuel ethanol is currently produced from corn (Zea mays L.) starch, but grain supplies will be insufficient to meet anticipated demands. Enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass such as corn and sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] stover can provide an abundant alternative source of fermentable sugars. While production of cellulosic ethanol from stover is feasible from an energy-balance perspective, its production is currently not economically competitive. Along with improvements in bioprocessing, enhancing the yield and composition of the biomass has the potential to make ethanol production considerably more cost effective. This requires (i) a better understanding of how cell wall composition and structure affect the efficiency of enzymatic hydrolysis, (ii) the development of traits that enhance biomass conversion efficiency and increase biomass yield, and (iii) the development of rapid screening protocols to evaluate biomass conversion efficiency. Several genetic resources are available to improve maize and sorghum as sources of lignocellulosic biomass. This includes the use of existing mutants, forward and reverse genetics to obtain novel mutants, and transgenic approaches in which the expression of genes of interest is modified. Plant breeding can be implemented to improve biomass yield, biomass quality, and biomass conversion efficiency, either through selection among progeny obtained by crossing parents with desirable traits, or as a way to enhance the agronomic performance of promising mutants and transgenics. Examples from current research will be used to illustrate progress in these different areas.

Abbreviations: LAP, laboratory analytical procedure • NREL, National Renewable Energy Laboratory • NIR, near infrared reflectance • PC, principal component • Py-GC-MS, pyrolysis–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

The authors would like to acknowledge the assistance of Bill Foster, Terry Lemming, and Phil Devillez with the management of field plots, the assistance of Javier Campos, Cecile Grenier, Joan Goetz, and Anna Olek with managing our respective laboratories and coordinating experiments, and Alma Armenta for generating the sorghum hydrolysis data. We would also like to acknowledge the participation of our colleagues from the cell wall genomics project, Karen Koch and Don McCarty, for development of the maize UniformMu collection from which cell wall mutants were screened; Maureen McCann and Steven Thomas for development of high through-put screening of maize by Fourier transform infrared and NIR; Mark Davis for pyrolysis-MBMS analyses; Sara Patterson, Bryan Penning, and Wolf-Dieter Reiter for expanding the annotations of cell wall–related genes in maize, rice, and Arabidopsis; and Reuben Tayengwa for characterization of selected cell wall mutants. We are grateful for funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation Plant Genome Research Program (DBI-0217552) and the Consortium for Plant Biotechnology Research, Inc. (CPBR), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Prime Agreement no. DEFG36-02GO12026. This support does not constitute and endorsement by DOE or CPBR of the views expressed in this publication. Additional financial support from Dow AgroSciences, Purdue University, Purdue Research Foundation, and Purdue Agricultural Research Programs is gratefully acknowledged.

Received for publication April 7, 2007.




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