ABSTRACT: Plant biomass is a large source of fermentable sugars for the synthesis of bioproducts using engineered microbes. These sugars are stored as cell wall polymers, mainly cellulose and hemicellulose, and are embedded with lignin, which makes their enzymatic hydrolysis challenging. One of the strategies to reduce cell wall recalcitrance is the modification of lignin … [Read more...] about Reduction of Cell Wall Methylation and Recalcitrance 2016-141
Biotechnology
EcoFAB Plant Growth Chambers for Microbiome Research 2017-048
Photo credit: Ritesh Melawal APPLICATIONS OF TECHNOLOGY: Laboratory and field study of plant microbiomes for improved plant sustainability and yield ADVANTAGES: Cost effective and easy to use Enables non-destructive, reproducible experiments Can be sealed during experiment cycle to decrease possibility of contamination Requires very small volume of … [Read more...] about EcoFAB Plant Growth Chambers for Microbiome Research 2017-048
Inhibiting Growth of Diverse Bacteria and Plant Pathogens 2018-006
APPLICATIONS OF TECHNOLOGY: Agriculture for food, bioenergy, and carbon sequestration Human health research ADVANTAGES: Highly efficient in killing competing bacteria ABSTRACT: Researchers at Berkeley Lab's Joint Genome Institute in collaboration with scientists from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, and the Swiss Federal … [Read more...] about Inhibiting Growth of Diverse Bacteria and Plant Pathogens 2018-006
Increased Specificity and Sensitivity to Detect Targeted Metabolites using NIMS 2017-051
APPLICATIONS OF TECHNOLOGY: Biological and chemical assays Selective metabolite analysis ADVANTAGES: Increased sensitivity to detect targeted metabolites High selectivity to targeted metabolites Extremely sensitive and non-destructive analytical technique ABSTRACT: Nanostructure-initiator Mass Spectrometry (NIMS) is a surface-based mass … [Read more...] about Increased Specificity and Sensitivity to Detect Targeted Metabolites using NIMS 2017-051
Metal-organic Frameworks for the Conversion of Lignocellulosic Derivatives to Renewable Platform Chemicals such as HMF 2014-138
APPLICATIONS OF TECHNOLOGY: Biobased fuel and chemical production ABSTRACT: The production of fuels and chemicals from lignocellulose-derived 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF) is important to the biobased fuel and chemical industry because HMF can be further converted to C9-C15 alkanes, 2,5-dimethylfuran, ethyl levulinate, 5-(alkoxymethyl)furfurals, and … [Read more...] about Metal-organic Frameworks for the Conversion of Lignocellulosic Derivatives to Renewable Platform Chemicals such as HMF 2014-138