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Genetic Modification in Dedicated Bioenergy Crops and Strategies for Gene Confinement

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Plant Biotechnology for Sustainable Production of Energy and Co-products

Part of the book series: Biotechnology in Agriculture and Forestry ((AGRICULTURE,volume 66))

Abstract

Genetic modification of dedicated bioenergy crops is in its infancy; however, there are numerous advantages to the use of these tools to improve crops used for biofuels. Potential improved traits through genetic engineering (GE) include herbicide resistance, pest-, drought-, cold- and salt-tolerance, lower inputs, compositional alterations, addition of cellulases and other biofuels-specific traits such as increased biomass yields and increased photosynthetic efficiencies. To achieve these goals on an agricultural scale, these improvements must meet regulatory standards for release into the environment. In most cases, these criteria will probably require gene confinement strategies to prevent gene flow into wild and non-transgenic populations. Here, we consider the options for prevention or mitigation of gene flow in genetically modified (GM) biofuels crops.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Rhode Island, 530 Liberty Lane, West Kingston, RI, 02892, USA

    Albert P. Kausch & Joel Hague

  2. USDA-ARS Plant Genetics Unit, University of Missouri, Columbia. 204 Curtis Hall, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA

    Melvin Oliver

  3. University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA

    Yi Li

  4. Biomolecular Science, Central Florida State University, Bldg. #20, Rm #336, 4000 Central Florida Blvd., Orlando, FL, 32816, USA

    Henry Daniell

  5. Ceres, 1535 Rancho Conejo Boulevard, Thousand Oaks, CA, 91320, USA

    Peter Mascia

  6. Racheff Chair of Excellence in Plant Molecular Genetics, University of Tennessee, 2431 Joe Johnson Dr., Knoxville, TN, 37996-4561, USA

    C. Neal Stewart Jr

Authors
  1. Albert P. Kausch
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  2. Joel Hague
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  3. Melvin Oliver
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  4. Yi Li
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  5. Henry Daniell
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  6. Peter Mascia
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  7. C. Neal Stewart Jr
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Albert P. Kausch .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Ceres, Inc., Rancho Conejo Blvd. 1535, Thousand Oaks, 91320, California, USA

    Peter N. Mascia

  2. ZMAW, Institute for Geography, University of Hamburg, Bundesstr. 53, Hamburg, 20146, Germany

    Jürgen Scheffran

  3. Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois, W. Gregory, ERML 1201, Urbana, 61801, Illinois, USA

    Jack M. Widholm

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Kausch, A.P. et al. (2010). Genetic Modification in Dedicated Bioenergy Crops and Strategies for Gene Confinement. In: Mascia, P., Scheffran, J., Widholm, J. (eds) Plant Biotechnology for Sustainable Production of Energy and Co-products. Biotechnology in Agriculture and Forestry, vol 66. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-13440-1_11

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