Dedicated biomass crops can enhance biodiversity in the arable landscape.

Suggestions that novel, non-food, dedicated biomass crops used to produce bioenergy may provide opportunities to diversify and reinstate biodiversity in intensively managed farmland have not yet been fully tested at the landscape scale. Using two of the largest, currently available landscape-scale biodiversity data sets from arable and biomass bioenergy crops, we take a taxonomic and functional trait approach to quantify and contrast the consequences for biodiversity indicators of adopting dedicated biomass crops on land previously cultivated under annual, rotational arable cropping. The abundance and community compositions of biodiversity indicators in fields of break and cereal crops changed when planted with the dedicated biomass crops, miscanthus and short rotation coppiced (SRC) willow.

Association mapping in L. (Salicaceae) - identification of candidate genes associated with growth and phenology.

Willow species () are important as short-rotation biomass crops for bioenergy, which creates a demand for faster genetic improvement and breeding through deployment of molecular marker-assisted selection (MAS). To find markers associated with important adaptive traits, such as growth and phenology, for use in MAS, we genetically dissected the trait variation of a (L.) population of 323 accessions.

High yielding biomass genotypes of willow ( spp.) show differences in below ground biomass allocation.

Willows ( spp.) grown as short rotation coppice (SRC) are viewed as a sustainable source of biomass with a positive greenhouse gas (GHG) balance due to their potential to fix and accumulate carbon (C) below ground. However, exploiting this potential has been limited by the paucity of data available on below ground biomass allocation and the extent to which it varies between genotypes.

G-fibre cell wall development in willow stems during tension wood induction.

Willows (Salix spp.) are important as a potential feedstock for bioenergy and biofuels. Previous work suggested that reaction wood (RW) formation could be a desirable trait for biofuel production in willows as it is associated with increased glucose yields, but willow RW has not been characterized for cell wall components.

Characterisation of the willow phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) gene family reveals expression differences compared with poplar.

Willow is an important biomass crop for the bioenergy industry, and therefore optimal growth with minimal effects of biotic and abiotic stress is essential. The phenylpropanoid pathway is responsible for the biosynthesis of not only lignin but also of flavonoids, condensed tannins, benzenoids and phenolic glycosides which all have a role in protecting the plant against biotic and abiotic stress. All products of the phenylpropanoid pathway are important for the healthy growth of short rotation cropping species such as willow.

X-ray micro-computed tomography in willow reveals tissue patterning of reaction wood and delay in programmed cell death.

Background: Variation in the reaction wood (RW) response has been shown to be a principle component driving differences in lignocellulosic sugar yield from the bioenergy crop willow. The phenotypic cause(s) behind these differences in sugar yield, beyond their common elicitor, however, remain unclear. Here we use X-ray micro-computed tomography (μCT) to investigate RW-associated alterations in secondary xylem tissue patterning in three dimensions (3D).

Functional screening of willow alleles in Arabidopsis combined with QTL mapping in willow (Salix) identifies SxMAX4 as a coppicing response gene.

Willows (Salix spp.) are important biomass crops due to their ability to grow rapidly with low fertilizer inputs and ease of cultivation in short-rotation coppice cycles. They are relatively undomesticated and highly diverse, but functional testing to identify useful allelic variation is time-consuming in trees and transformation is not yet possible in willow.

Genetic strategies for dissecting complex traits in biomass willows (Salix spp.).

Willows are highly diverse catkin-bearing trees and shrubs of the genus Salix. They occur in many growth forms, from tall trees to creeping alpines, and successfully occupy a wide variety of ecological niches. Shrubby willows (sub-genus Vetrix) have many characteristics that render them suited to cultivation in much faster growth cycles than conventional forestry.

Reaction wood - a key cause of variation in cell wall recalcitrance in willow.

Background: The recalcitrance of lignocellulosic cell wall biomass to deconstruction varies greatly in angiosperms, yet the source of this variation remains unclear. Here, in eight genotypes of short rotation coppice willow (Salix sp.) variability of the reaction wood (RW) response and the impact of this variation on cell wall recalcitrance to enzymatic saccharification was considered.

Investigation of tension wood formation and 2,6-dichlorbenzonitrile application in short rotation coppice willow composition and enzymatic saccharification.

Background: Short rotation coppice willow is a potential lignocellulosic feedstock in the United Kingdom and elsewhere; however, research on optimising willow specifically for bioethanol production has started developing only recently. We have used the feedstock Salix viminalis × Salix schwerinii cultivar 'Olof' in a three-month pot experiment with the aim of modifying cell wall composition and structure within the stem to the benefit of bioethanol production. Trees were treated for 26 or 43 days with tension wood induction and/or with an application of the cellulose synthesis inhibitor 2,6-dichlorobenzonitrile that is specific to secondary cell walls.

Meeting the challenge of food and energy security.

Growing crops for bioenergy or biofuels is increasingly viewed as conflicting with food production. However, energy use continues to rise and food production requires fuel inputs, which have increased with intensification. Focussing on the question of food or fuel is thus not helpful.

Genetic improvement of willow for bioenergy and biofuels.

Willows (Salix spp.) are a very diverse group of catkin-bearing trees and shrubs that are widely distributed across temperate regions of the globe. Some species respond well to being grown in short rotation coppice (SRC) cycles, which are much shorter than conventional forestry.

Genetic structure and population dynamics of a heteroecious plant pathogen Melampsora larici-epitea in short-rotation coppice willow plantations.

Complex life strategies are common among plant pathogens belonging to rust fungi (Uredinales). The heteroecious willow rust Melampsora larici-epitea produces five spore stages and alternates on larch (Larix). To shed light on the epidemiology of this pathogen, amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs) were used to determine the genetic diversity and genetic structure of rust samples collected from coppice willow (Salix) plantations at three UK sites (LA, CA and MC) over three sampling dates (September 2000, July 2001 and September 2001).

Bioenergy from plants and the sustainable yield challenge.

Bioenergy from plants, particularly from perennial grasses and trees, could make a substantial contribution to alleviation of global problems in climate change and energy security if high yields can be sustained. Here, yield traits in a range of key bioenergy crops are reviewed, from which several targets for future improvement can be identified. Some are already the focus of genetically modified (GM) and non-GM approaches.

Evidence of diversity within the SnRK1b gene family of Hordeum species.

Adaptor-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify 3 different products, termed variant A, B, and C, from the seed-specific class (SnRK1b) of the sucrose nonfermenting-1-related protein kinase gene family (SnRK1) of different Hordeum species and cultivars of barley (Hordeum vulgare). Standard PCR or reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) at a high temperature, using primers that differed by 1 or 2 nucleotides, was then used to amplify and clone 3 specific variants. One primer pair amplified a variant from I genome species suggesting that this could be a useful I-genome specific marker.