Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) is a common forage plant that grows over much of the United States. It has drawn interest as possible feedstock for biofuels, used livestock, planted soil conservation, and component diet some species wildlife. We analyzed energy content seeds switchgrass obtained from crops mourning doves (Zenaida macroura) collected plains-mesa sand-scrub in Lea Eddy counties, N...

BACKGROUND The ubiquitin protein is present in all eukaryotic cells and promoters from ubiquitin genes are good candidates to regulate the constitutive expression of transgenes in plants. Therefore, two switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) ubiquitin genes (PvUbi1 and PvUbi2) were cloned and characterized. Reporter constructs were produced containing the isolated 5' upstream regulatory regions of t...

Perennial, temperate, C4 grasses, such as switchgrass and miscanthus have been tabbed as sources of herbaceous biomass for the production of green fuels and chemicals based on a number of positive agronomic traits. Although there is important literature on the management of these species for biomass production on marginal lands, numerous aspects of their biology are as yet unexplored at the mol...

The benefi ts of particle size reduction and mechanical densifi cation of biomass feedstock for storage, transportation, and handling must be assessed in relation to the systemic costs and energy consumption incurred due to these operations. The goal of this work was to determine the optimal levels of size reduction and densifi cation through a combination of modeling and experimental studies. ...

A sound multi-species vegetation buffer design should incorporate the species that facilitate rapid degradation and sequestration of deposited herbicides in the buffer. A field lysimeter study with six different ground covers (bare ground, orchardgrass, tall fescue, timothy, smooth bromegrass, and switchgrass) was established to assess the bioremediation capacity of five forage species to enhan...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are an important class of small regulatory RNAs. The goal of this study was to analyse stress-responsive miRNAs in switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), the emerging biofuel crop, to facilitate choosing gene targets for improving biomass and biofuel yield. After sequencing three small RNA libraries constructed from control, salt- and drought-treated switchgrass using Illumina seque...

In the Midwestern U.S., perennial rhizomatous grasses (PRGs) are considered one of the most promising vegetation types to be used as a cellulosic feedstock for renewable energy production. The potential widespread use of biomass crops for renewable energy production has sparked numerous environmental concerns, including the impacts of landuse change on the hydrologic cycle. We predicted that to...

BACKGROUND Grasses are relatively recalcitrant to genetic transformation in comparison to certain dicotyledons, yet they constitute some of the most important biofuel crops. Genetic transformation of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) has previously been reported after cocultivation of explants with Agrobacterium and biolistics of embryogenic calli. Experiments to increase transient gene express...

Two sets of gasification experiments were performed in an effort to understand the fate of biomass nutrients and the effects of feedstock potassium on carbon conversion during gasification. The purpose of this research was to develop a comprehensive understanding of the issues of sustainability and efficiency facing biomass gasification. The results of these studies are described in detail with...

Although an increase in soil fertility is the most frequently reported benefit linked to adding biochar to soils, there is still a need to pursue additional research that will improve our understanding on the impact of soil fertility enhancement because the effect could vary greatly between switchgrass (Panicum virgatum, L) residues (USG) and switchgrass biochars (SG). We hypothesized that SG w...