Meeting and publications- USA Applications of Molecular Biology for the Production of Plants for Biobased Products and Bioenergy

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A meeting Applications of Molecular Biology for the Production of Plants for Biobased Products and Bioenergy was held in Albany, California in April 2004 as part of the activities of the US-EC Task Force on Biotechnology Research at the Western Regional Research Center of the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Part of the report is available as a PDF

The following information is abstracted from this published report of ths workshop.

Preface

These proceedings summarize the presentations, discussions, and recommendations made during the US-EC Workshop entitled "US-EC Workshop on Applications of Molecular Biology for the Production of Plants for Biobased Products and Bioenergy". This meeting was held at the USDA, ARS Western Regional Research Center (WRRC), Albany CA, USA. The purpose of the workshop was to bring together an interdisciplinary group of leading researchers from the U.S. and Europe to assess the future of this new endeavor and to identify challenges and research opportunities.

The workshop participants made presentations related to their expertise, participated in round table discussions, and then made recommendations that will be carried through the Task Force to US Government research agencies and to the Commission of the European Union on opportunities for research and collaborative activities that will enhance the development of this exciting new field.

A set of follow-up activities were agreed upon, as follows:

• issue the following proceedings from this workshop,
• prepare a strategy paper that encourages international collaborations on biobased product research, building on existing models of international collaboration,
• identify one or more 'flagship" projects and formulate the standards of such a project so that it will benefit society, prove useful to consumers and gain public acceptance, and
• make communication and personnel exchange between EC and US scientists a priority. Further scientist-to-scientist collaborations and involvement of scientists in key committees (such as the National Academy of Sciences and International Food Biotechnology Council) to consider issues of biotechnology should be encouraged and facilitated by the burgeoning Working Group for Biobased Products. A committee to facilitate follow-up activities was established.

The views expressed in this document are those of the workshop participants, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsors or governments.

Executive Summary

Executive Summary At the 13^th meeting of the US-EC Task Force on Biotechnology Research the Task Force agreed to sponsor a workshop on applications of molecular biology to enhance plants for the purpose of producing biobased products and bioenergy. The purpose of the workshop was to bring together an interdisciplinary group of leading researchers from the United States and Europe to assess the future of this new endeavor and to identify challenges and research opportunities.

The workshop was held at the Western Regional Research Center (WRRC) of the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)in Albany, California, from April 28 to 30. 2004. There were 47 participants. Moderators, rapporteurs and guests/observers that attended from various U.S. and European scientific offices and institutions. The workshop was organized in five panels:

• Research Supporting a Biobased Economy:
• Case Studies/Applications;
• The Scientific Basis for Regulation;
• Opportunities in the Future; and
• Wrap-up Discussion, Conclusions and Recommendations.

Some common themes of mutual interest that emerged from the workshop are as follows

• Green plants have the potential to become an expanded resource for sustainable industries, provide new industrial products from renewable resources, reduce dependence on petrochemicals, and create exciting new markets for farmers. There is a need for improved fundamental tools/knowledge, such as:
  • increased exploitation of the vast arrays of data that genome efforts have created.
  • a better "toolbox" for studying the plant cell wall (efficient coupling of analytical chemistry to molecular techniques).
  • further development of plant-derived oils as bio-lubricants and chemical precursors.
  • A better understanding of containment, what it is and how to achieve it at production scale levels
• Metabolic engineering is an important strategy for modifying plants to express desired compounds; however, increased knowledge of intricate metabolic pathways is critical to fully develop this technology.
• White biotechnology can produce compounds at much higher yields in comparison to green biotechnology. Green biotechnology can play an important role for white biotechnology in supplying improved feedstocks. Moreover, green biotechnology can generate compounds that white biotechnology cannot.
• Scientists can address the extrinsic risks (experimentally definable) of biotechnology and should communicate their results to the public. There is also a need to help address the intrinsic risks (political, economic or social values) even if these are based on perception.
• Life Cycle Assessment, a technique for assessing all environmental effects and potential impacts associated with a product or underlying processes, represents an approach to help guide and refine sustainable development of biotechnology applied to biobased production and bioenergy.
• The US-EC Working Group for the Environment encouraged collaborations between early career US and EC scientists. This aspect of that previous program received positive reviews by participants. These participants should be contacted to evaluate the impact upon their careers with consideration for implementing a similar approach to a biobased product initiative.

A set of follow -up activities were agreed upon:

• Prepare and issue the proceedings from this workshop
• Prepare a strategy paper that encourages international collaborations on biobased product research, building on existing models of international collaboration such as the Solanaceous genomics platform.
• Identify one or more flagship' projects and formulate the standards of a "flagship" project such that all necessary goals are accomplished:
  • Direct customer benefit
  • Improvement of public acceptance
  • Benefits to society as well as agriculture and the environment
• Make communication and personnel exchange between EU and US scientists a priority. Further scientist-to-scientist collaborations and involvement of scientists in key committees (National Academy of Sciences, International Food Biotechnology Council) considering issues of biotechnology, should be encouraged and facilitated by the burgeoning Working Group for Biobased Products

  A committee to facilitate follow-up activities was established. It consists of:

  • Dr. Diana Bowles, University of York, United Kingdom
  • Dr. George Sakellaris, the National Hellenic Research Foundation, Greece
  • Dr. James Seiber, Agricultural Research Service (ARS-USDA), USA
  • Dr. William Orts, ARS-USDA, USA

The Office of International Research Programs (OIRP-ARS-USDA) will assist the committee. OIRP will assign two office members to this program: Dr. Richard Greene and Ms. Eileen Herrera. Similarly assistance will be provided from the EC by Laurent Bochereau and Ciaran Mangan.

Contents

Preface
Executive Summary

Panel I: RESEARCH SUPPORTING A BIOBASED ECONOMY
RAPPORTEUR'S SUMMARY
Abstracts

• Research Challenges and Opportunities in Engineering Plants as Feedstocks for Biobased Products
• Non-food Uses of Crops: Bioscience Underpinning New Applications For Agriculture
• Microbial Genomics Models - What Can We Learn that is Applicable to Plants"
• Genomics/Bioinformatics for Plant Improvement

PANEL II: CASE STUDIES, APPLICATIONS
RAPPORTEUR'S SUMMARY
Abstracts

• The Development of Guayule Latex and By-Products
• The Fibre Sector, Benefits of hemp
• Chemical Feedstocks - A European Perspective for , Propandiol Production
• Oils - Breakthroughs in Modified Plant Oils: Production of Industrially Important Fatty Acids in Oilseed Crops: Long-Term Challenges and Short-Term Solutions
• Oils- Breakthroughs in Modified Plant Oils: Strategies for the Development of Transgenic Crops
• Producing Novel Oil Qualities for Technical Purposes
• Bioplastics-What future?
• Modified Starches for Multiple Uses
• Opportunities for Plant Biotechnology in Biomass Conversion
• Reduction of Enzyme Costs for the Conversion of Lignocellulosic Biomass to Glucose
• Molecular Farming-Therapeutics in Plants
• A European Perspective on the Biobased Economy of the 21st Century

PANEL III: THE SCIENTIFIC BASES FOR REGULATION
RAPPORTEUR's SUMMARY
Abstracts

• U.S. Regulatory Perspectives: Regulating Industrial Plant Products
• GM Crops: Common Policy or Complementarity
• Biotechnology Risk Mitigation Research Related to Industrial Applications
• Sustainability and Life Cycle Analysis
• Risk Communication: A Key Issue in Dialogue with the Public

PANEL IV: OPPORTUNITIES IN THE FUTURE
RAPPORTEURS SUMMARY
Abstracts

• Engineering Metabolic Pathways
• Manipulation of Plant Development and Architecture
• Plant Biotechnology for Multiple End-Users
• Green and White Biotechnology: Opportunities for Synergy
• Establishing a Meaningful Program of US-European Cooperation: The Environmental Biotechnology Example

PANEL V: WRAP-UP DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
RAPPORTEUR'S SUMMARY
Scientific Challenges
New Research Tools Needed
Non-Technical Barriers (or Actions to Overcome Them)

• A) Scientific Challenges
• B) New Research Tools Needed
• Nontechnical Barriers

Contacts

Contact

• Eileen HERRERA / USDA-ARS-OIRP USA