Project properties

Title Breeding miscanthus for biofuel production
Group Plant Breeding, Laboratory of
Project type thesis
Credits 36
Supervisor(s) Tim van der Weijde and Luisa Trindade
Examiner(s) Luisa Trindade
Contact info Luisa Trindade, luisa.trindade@wur.nl
Begin date 2014/09/01
End date 2022/03/15
Description Biofuels, produced from plant biomass, are a promising and sustainable alternative to fossil fuels. The production of 2nd generation biofuels comprises the release of the structural sugars present in the cell wall and the fermentation of these sugars into biofuel (e.g. bioethanol or biogas). The efficiency at which these sugars are released from the cell wall is dependent on its composition and structure. A biobased economy demands feedstocks with novel properties and the currently available crops bred for centuries are thus far from optimal, as they have been optimized for different purposes. To fulfil the wishes of the new biobased economy, novel crops optimized for biobased applications need to be developed.
The grass miscanthus is very promising candidate crop, because of its high yields and resource-use efficiency. It has a broad adaptation to different environments and can be grown widely in Europe and Asia. Within the OPTIMISC project (OPTImizing MISCanthus biomass production) six replicated field trials with 15 elite miscanthus genotypes are established across Europe (Aberysthwyth, Adana, Moscow, Potash, Stuttgart, Wageningen), and a set of these lines have been trialled in China, to study this crop in more detail.
The influence of the differing environments on cell wall composition will be investigated in this master thesis project with respect to the quality of the biomass for cellulosic biofuel production. This will help to identify the breeding targets for a biobased future.

Suggested reading:
Pauly, M. and K. Keegstra (2010). "Plant cell wall polymers as precursors for biofuels." Current Opinion in Plant Biology 13 (3): 304-311.

Torres, A. F., T. Weijde, O. Dolstra, R. G. F. Visser and L. M. Trindade (2013). "Effect of Maize Biomass Composition on the Optimization of Dilute-Acid Pretreatments and Enzymatic Saccharification." Bioenergy Research: 1-14.
Used skills - Cell wall compositional analysis (biochemical methods)
- High-throughput phenotyping of sample material
- Analysis of genetic (G) and environmental (E) variation and G x E interaction
- Defining breeding criteria for biofuel purposes
Requirements PBR-30306 Breeding for quality and resistance