THE FUTURE THIS SECTION BROUGHT TO YOU IN ASSOCIATION WITH

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1 THIS SECTION BROUGHT TO YOU IN ASSOCIATION WITH 25

2 On a recent agricultural study tour to South America we could not help but be impressed by the almost universal acceptance and adoption of biofuels in Brazil. Fuels derived from plant materials largely sugar and soy bean crops are a major part of the market Bioethanol is made by fermenting the sugar components of plant materials and it is made mostly from sugar in Brazil and corn in the USA. Cellulosic biomass, such as trees and grasses, are also used as feedstocks for ethanol production. Biodiesel is made from vegetable oils, animal fats or recycled greases. Biodiesel can be used as a fuel for vehicles in its pure form, but it is usually used as a diesel additive to reduce levels of particulates, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons from dieselpowered vehicles. Biodiesel is the most common biofuel in Europe. Although biofuels provided less than two per cent of the world s transport fuel in 2008 they will certainly play an increased role as oil reserves are depleted. There are various issues biofuel production and use the food vs. fuel debate, deforestation and their impact on water resources to name a few but we can be sure they will be part of our industry s future. Genome sequence for important biofuels yeast A strain of yeast that thrives on turning sugar cane into ethanol for biofuel has had its genome completely sequenced by researchers at Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina. Understanding this microbe may enable more efficient biofuel production, and also will produce even more robust industrial organisms that are versatile and capable of producing advanced biofuels from non-food crops like switchgrass, said Lucas Argueso, Ph.D., lead author and research scholar in the Duke Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology. Argueso worked researchers from Brazil and the University of North Carolina on the study, which was published in Genome Research. Yeast keeps on keeping on Case IH s new Puma 225 is ideal for use in cane. The Puma is also compatible for use up to a 100 per cent biodiesel blend (following approved Case IH maintenance procedures). Yeast viewed under an electron microscope researchers have unravelled the genome sequence of a strain of yeast that thrives on turning sugar cane into ethanol. When oil prices crept to new highs in the 1970s, Brazil invested in alternative biofuels created from the country s abundant sugar cane crops. Commercially available baker s yeast was used to break down the sugar cane into ethanol, but genetic tests showed that this yeast quickly disappeared in the harsh environment of industrial fermentation vats. But yeast that grows naturally on the sugar cane was still viable in the vats and lasted through many more generations. This is the yeast strain that Argueso and colleagues studied and mapped, known as PE-2. We took an organism that is hugely important from an industrial standpoint but completely unknown in terms of its genetic and molecular properties, Argueso said. We learned much more about how a complex genome is organized and may contribute to a robust and well-adapted organism. Now we have sequenced the genome, so we have a road map that will allow us to build upon its natural abilities, he said. This opens the door to crossing yeast strains to make even more efficient yeasts for enhanced biofuel production. Knowing more about what makes yeast hearty will help as biofuel production evolves. In addition to the sugar cane fuels of Brazil, scientists and farmers are also looking into new carbohydrate sources that could easily be farmed in the United States and other areas, since sugar cane farming is limited to warm climates. Switchgrass and giant grass, also known as elephant grass, are possibilities, along miscanthus grass. A yeast for all occasions? Argueso said the PE-2 genome will aid research into finding the best and strongest yeasts for converting the cellulose in grasses into biofuel, Argueso said. I believe this strain has a natural talent for carbohydrate biofuels that have not yet been introduced in the United States, he said. When the technology is engineered to effectively break down cellulose, I believe this strain of yeast will be an ideal delivery vehicle for that technology. Contact: Mary Jane Gore, E: mary.gore@duke.edu n 26 AUSTRALIAN SUGARCANE ANNUAL 2009

3 Biofuels boost from Brazilian GM sugarcane? Brazil annually harvests some 500 million tonnes of sugar cane, making it the world s largest producer. In addition to sugar, bioethanol is the primary product produced. Brazil has the biggest market share of biofuels worldwide 1.2 million tonnes of bioethanol were exported from Brazil to the USA alone in Brazilian company Centro de Tecnologia Canavieira (CTC) and the German chemical giant BASF recently announced a cooperation agreement in plant biotechnology. The companies are combining their competencies in sugarcane breeding and biotechnology the aim of bringing sugarcane growers higher-yielding and drought-tolerant sugarcane varieties. The goal is to bring sugarcane varieties yield increases of 25 per cent to the market in about the next decade. Scientists and engineers think that the ethanol yield of sugarcane can be doubled from 6000 litre per hectare to more than 12,000 litre per hectare in the next 15 years. Located in São Paulo state, CTC has 40 years experience in sugarcane breeding and boasts the largest germplasm sugarcane bank in the world. CTC serves about 12,000 sugarcane growers together sugar, ethanol and power producers. The CTC members account for 60 per cent of cane processed in Brazil, or a total of 450 million tonnes during the season. 25 per cent yield increase In a joint statement the companies said that they wish to combine their expertise in order to develop a new variety of sugar cane, in which the current average yield of 80 tonnes per hectare would be increased to 100 tonnes. CTC CEO Nilson Zaramella Boeta believes that the cooperation should bring about a great leap in sugar cane quality and productivity and support Brazil s position as the leading global player in sugar, ethanol and energy. The key objective of this cooperation is to develop sugarcane varieties that will produce 25 per cent more yield than the varieties currently on the market, said Marc Ehrhardt, Group Vice President, BASF Plant Science. This is another example of BASF s plant biotechnology strategy BASF Biology lab techs Alexandra Cornelißen and Julia Fink review the development of bacterial colonies on an agar plate. The aim is to insert a new gene in the bacteria. 28 AUSTRALIAN SUGARCANE ANNUAL 2009

4 When the new GM sugarcane varieties from the CTC/BASF partnership leave the hothouse and go into the field they promise to deliver significant yield improvements. by which we aim to increase efficiency in farming by bringing BASF s superior genes to farmers around the world in cooperation the best partners. Additional value to be shared What s happening in Australia? As we go to press we are expecting the announcement of a similar cooperation agreement between an international biotech player and the Australian sugar industry. The quality of Australian research in this field is acknowledged around the world. Two-fold increase in sugar content In 2007 scientists from the University of Queensland in Brisbane developed transgenic lines of sugarcane increased total sugar content. The transgenic lines called Sugarbooster, produce the high-value sugar isomaltutose (IM) through the introduction of the vacuoletargeted sucrose isomerase (SI) gene. The IM accumulates in storage tissues of sugarcane out any decrease in stored sucrose concentration. This resulted in up to two-fold increase in the total sugar yield in the harvested juice. The transgenic sugarcane lines were found to be morphologically similar to nontransformed controls of the same sugarcane cultivar. But delayed leaf senescence, increased photosynthetic activity, and enhanced sucrose transport were observed in the transgenics. The Bureau of Sugar Experiment Stations Ltd (BSES) is seeking to introduce mainly four modified traits: shoot architecture (shoot number, stalk size, and height), water use efficiency, nitrogen use efficiency and marker gene expression (antibiotic resistance and reporter genes). The yield increase that the partners are targeting will create significant additional value that will be shared among sugarcane, ethanol and energy producers, as well as CTC and BASF. The agreement also provides the possibility for both companies to evaluate the development of sugarcane varieties herbicide-tolerant characteristics in the future. With this agreement, BASF is launching its biotechnology activities in the sugarcane sector. CTC the largest and leading sugarcane research center in Brazil 40 years of history and 15 years dedicated to biotechnology will gain a very important partner in research to develop new technological solutions. BASF provides plant biotech knowhow as well as its most promising genes, and CTC, in turn, brings its broad expertise in sugarcane and adds selected genes to its most promising sugarcane varieties. Contact: CTC Centro de Tecnologia Canavieira Jorge Pacheco Tel: E: jorge@bureauideias.com.br n BASF Technician Janka Canitz prepares a gel electrophoresis, a technique that makes genes visible. Researchers use it to check whether new genes have been successfully transported into plants. AUSTRALIAN SUGARCANE ANNUAL

5 Fill up your tank sugar refinery waste water? Dr Korneel Rabaey, from the University of Queensland s Advanced Water Management Centre (AWMC), recently received an $80,000 award to explore a novel route for the production of butanol from wastewater. Alcohols such as ethanol, propanol and butanol, are produced by the action of microorganisms and enzymes through the fermentation of sugars, starches or cellulose. Butanol can be used directly in a gasoline engine (in a similar way to biodiesel in diesel engines). Korneel is using his wastewater research experience to tap into a new way of producing energy-rich biofuels from wastewater and biomass. The required wastewater is plentiful in industries such as sugar refineries and breweries. The project, which is in its preliminary stage, will look at the production of butanol using Bioelectrochemical Systems (BESs). These systems combine wastewater treatment the production of butanol from butyrate a typical fatty acid formed during fermentation and/or carbon dioxide. The butanol itself is not the most important outcome of our research at the moment. Our key objective is to create an interface, where we drive microbial conversions using electricity, says Korneel. If successful, this approach will allow us to use electrical current, whether derived from wastewater or any other (renewable) source to perform biosynthesis of a wide variety of chemicals including butanol, propanediol and bioplastics. Beer as a battery? In 2007, Korneel was part of a joint project between UQ and Foster s to turn beer wastewater into electricity. The research into the microbial fuel cell was awarded $140,000 from the Queensland Government s Sustainable Energy Innovation Fund. Wastewater contains nutrients (for agriculture), water (which can be made to any quality) and organics. The latter represent both building blocks for value chemicals or can be used to generate electrical or thermal energy, he said. The current approach to wastewater treatment rarely leads to adequate recovery of these resources, anaerobic digestion being the exception. When bioelectrochemical systems, then called microbial fuel cells, came up in the early 2000s, I found that their unique features would allow unforseen control of the wastewater treatment process, while allowing us to recover the resources it contains. The resource tapped into here is the energy wastewater contains just what is needed to produce a fuel. Korneel believes BESs could take energy from wastewater, and use this energy to supply reducing power and create biofuels or biochemicals. Recovering the energy, the nutrients and the waste from wastewater creates three marketable products which should make wastewater treatment a net profitable business, he said. Hopefully, in one to two decades, wastewater will be a valuable resource, used in a normal industrial sector rather than going through City Council, tax-paid treatment plants. I am convinced that BESs can play a key role in this development. n Researcher Korneel Rabaey and Centre Director Jurg Keller contemplate the wonderful world of waste water. 30 AUSTRALIAN SUGARCANE ANNUAL 2009