Improving the crop’s photosynthetic efficiency will ensure that the production of energy-dense oil will not offset yields or cost the plant precious resources. We are fortifying energycane and Miscanthus to create a more efficient, productive, and sustainable source of bioenergy. ROGUE's metabolic and whole-crop models identified 10 approaches to improve how plants photosynthesize and use limited resources, such as water and nitrogen, particularly under stress. We have already improved sugarcane photosynthesis by 15 percent at optimal temperatures between 20-25 degrees Celcius and 50 percent in chilling temperatures between 5-10 degrees Celcius. Our goal is to apply these methods to increase the photosynthetic efficiency of energycane and Miscanthus by 50 percent.
ROGUE is sponsored by the Office of Biological and Environmental Research in the Office of Science in the U.S. Department of Energy.