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NeBIO Newsletter

NeBIO Newsletter
NeBIO Newsletter is a quarterly newsletter published by North East Centre for Environmental Education and Research (NECEER), Imphal (Manipur). The newsletter is first of its kind in the region, which is mainly concentrated on the conservation of biodiversity of North Eastern states of India.

Categories of Articles:
General articles (not exceeding 2000 words) should include an abstract, introductory paragraph, brief subheads at appropriate places, illustrations that will help a general reader.

Review articles (not exceeding 1000 words) are expected to survey and discuss current developments in a field. They should be well focused and organized.

Research articles (not exceeding 3000 words) report research results of major significance. They should include an abstract, an introductory paragraph, and brief subheads.

Communications (not exceeding 1500 words) contain important new findings that are novel and of fairly broad interest. They should include a brief abstract and an introductory paragraph.

* All articles will be first assessed by a Reviewing Editor. Articles found unsuitable in terms of the overall requirements of the newsletter will be returned to the authors. The others will be sent for detailed review. Authors of these articles will be notified of acceptance, need for revision or rejection of the paper.

Themes:
Floristic and Faunal diversity of North-eastern states.
Exploration of Biodiversity in NE States
Conservation Action / Management Plan
Environmental pollution
Intellectual Property Rights
Traditional Knowledge / Ethnobiology
Medicinal Plants
Natural Resources
National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Biosphere Reserves and Wetlands
Endemic and Endangered species
Sacred Groves
Inland water bodies
Biotechnology & Bioinformatics
and environment related issues etc etc…..

Note: * Articles should be in electronic format (MS Word)
Font: Times New Roman
Font size: 12
Title: Font size 14 (Bold)
Author’s Name with Affiliation Institute, organization/company
Address, Contact number and Email Address
* Mention the category of the article.

Terms and Conditions:
Submission of an article implies that it has not been previously published and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere; and further, that if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere.

Contributions should reach the editor not later than
March issue: 9 February
June issue: 9 May
September issue: 9 August
December issue: 9 November

All contributions should be sent to the Editor via email: redjiban@yahoo.co.in

"Modified plants may yield more biofuel"
Monday, December 22, 2008

Greg Grieco Seedlings of transgenic poplar trees in John Carlson's lab.

University Park, Pa. -- Plants, genetically modified to ease the breaking down of their woody material, could be the key to a cheaper and greener way of making ethanol, according to researchers who add that the approach also could help turn agricultural waste into food for livestock.

Lignin, a major component of woody plant material, is woven in with cellulose and provides plants with the strength to withstand strong gusts of wind and microbial attack. However, this protective barrier or "plastic wall" also makes it harder to gain access to the cellulose.

"There is lots of energy-rich cellulose locked away in wood," said John Carlson, professor of molecular genetics, Penn State. "But separating this energy from the wood to make ethanol is a costly process requiring high amounts of heat and caustic chemicals. Moreover, fungal enzymes that attack lignin are not yet widely available, still in the development stage, and not very efficient in breaking up lignin."

Researchers have previously tried to get around the problem by genetically decreasing the lignin content in plants. However, this can lead to a variety of problems -- limp plants unable to stay upright, and plants more susceptible to pests.

"Trying to engineer trees without lignin is like trying to engineer boneless chicken," said Ming Tien, professor of biochemistry, Penn State. "It just doesn't make sense."

Carlson, Tien and postdoctoral associate Haiying Liang use a different genetic approach. Instead of decreasing the lignin content, they are trying to modify the connections in lignin, without compromising either the biosynthesis of lignin or the structural rigidity of the plant.

The Penn State geneticists and biochemists took a gene from parsley and engineered it into a poplar tree. This gene produces a protein that inserts itself between two lignin molecules when the lignin polymer is created.

"Now we have a lignin polymer with a protein stuck in between," explained Carlson, who, along with Tien and Liang, has filed a provisional patent on the approach. "When that occurs, it creates a type of lignin that is not much different in terms of strength than normal lignin, but we can break open the lignin polymer by using enzymes that attack proteins rather than enzymes that attack lignin."

These enzymes that attack proteins are already used widely in the laundry detergent industry and are commercially readily available, added Carlson.

The genetic modification does not appear to weaken the plants, and the transformation may have turned them into more efficient sources of ethanol.

"When we looked at the first generation of modified plants we noticed that the lignin content has not changed," said Tien, whose work is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. "We haven't done a fitness test yet but we did see an increase in the yield of sugars for converting into ethanol."

The researchers also may have stumbled on an unexpected side benefit.

One of the problems with forage crops such as ryegrass and clover is that they have too much lignin, which can cause ruminants like cows to get sick. Their digestive enzymes go into overdrive to break down the lignin, creating a lot of gas and digestion problems for the animals.

"All animals produce enzymes in their digestive process that break down amino acids and small proteins that can be absorbed by the intestine," said Carlson. "If this technology were to be transferred to alfalfa or hay or such cattle feed, it might make it easier for the cows to break down the lignin through their own enzymes."

Carlson added that the technology could potentially be transferred to other biomass crops and even help turn agricultural waste products found on farms into animal feed. But the modified plants will require federal approval before they can be commercialized.

"Modified plants may yield more biofuel"

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