Read the full post at Biopact.
Scientists at Michigan State University have identified a new protein necessary for chloroplast development, which might lead to a whole new class of energy crops. The discovery allows researchers to design crops that grow oil in their leaves, stems or roots, instead of only in their seeds. The first lab trials with such engineered crops are already under way: a type of cold-tolerant root-crop (rutabaga) has been modified to become ‘oily’, growing biomass with the consistency of an avocado, full of easily extractable oil.
