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New sorghum variant outperforms soybeans in oil yield

CABBI researchers engineer high-oil sorghum, potentially revolutionizing renewable fuel feedstock and agricultural markets.

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Researchers at the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI) have achieved a significant breakthrough in sustainable biofuel production. Their newly developed sorghum variant demonstrates superior oil production capabilities compared to soybeans, offering a promising new source for renewable fuels such as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel.

Key findings from the study, published in Plant Biotechnology Journal, include:

  1. Enhanced oil production:

    • The engineered sorghum accumulates up to 5.5% dry weight triacylglycerols (TAG) in leaves and 3.5% in stems under field conditions.
    • This represents a 78-fold increase in leaves and a 58-fold increase in stems compared to unmodified sorghum.
    • The new variant could potentially yield 1.4 times more oil per hectare than soybeans.
  2. Innovative "push-pull-protect" strategy:

    • Researchers introduced genes to increase carbon flow from photosynthesis into oil production.
    • The approach also enhances fatty acid incorporation into TAG molecules and protects stored oil from degradation.
  3. Field performance:

    • The engineered sorghum lines maintained stable oil production over multiple generations.
    • Unlike similar studies with other biomass crops, these lines avoided biomass reductions.
  4. Future implications:

    • The new oil sorghum lines offer potential new feedstocks for renewable diesel and SAF.
    • This development could reduce reliance on traditional oil crops while meeting growing renewable energy demands.
    • Farmers may benefit from new income streams and markets through oil sorghum bioprocessing.

Edgar Cahoon, Director of the Center for Plant Science Innovation at the University of Nebraska and a corresponding author on the paper, emphasized the significance of this research: "This work is the culmination of a large team effort that demonstrates how fundamental research can be used to develop new crop feedstocks to address global energy demands."

The CABBI research team plans to continue refining their approach, aiming to achieve their goal of growing crops with 10% TAG by dry weight. This ongoing research involves in-depth analysis of the "push-pull-protect" metabolic engineering strategy and its effects on lipid production and degradation in the plant.

For the grain handling and processing industry, this breakthrough presents potential opportunities and challenges. As oil sorghum emerges as a viable biofuel feedstock, industry stakeholders may need to adapt their operations to accommodate this new crop. This could involve investments in specialized equipment for handling and processing oil-rich sorghum, as well as developing new storage and transportation protocols.

Additionally, the success of oil sorghum could impact market dynamics for traditional oilseed crops like soybeans. Industry participants should closely monitor these developments and consider how they might affect supply chains, pricing, and demand for various grain and oilseed products.

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