Haploidy and aneuploidy in switchgrass mediated by misexpression of CENH3.

Cross bred species such as switchgrass may benefit from advantageous breeding strategies requiring inbred lines. Doubled haploid production methods offer several ways that these lines can be produced that often involve uniparental genome elimination as the rate limiting step. We have used a centromere-mediated genome elimination strategy in which modified CENH3 is expressed to induce the process.

Over-expression of the cucumber expansin gene (Cs-EXPA1) in transgenic maize seed for cellulose deconstruction.

Plant cell wall degradation into fermentable sugars by cellulases is one of the greatest barriers to biofuel production. Expansin protein loosens the plant cell wall by opening up the complex of cellulose microfibrils and polysaccharide matrix components thereby increasing its accessibility to cellulases. We over-expressed cucumber expansin in maize kernels to produce enough protein to assess its potential to serve as an industrial enzyme for applications particularly in biomass conversion.

Subcellular targeting is a key condition for high-level accumulation of cellulase protein in transgenic maize seed.

Ethanol from lignocellulosic biomass is being pursued as an alternative to petroleum-based transportation fuels. To succeed in this endeavour, efficient digestion of cellulose into monomeric sugar streams is a key step. Current production systems for cellulase enzymes, i.