China-U.S. workshop on biotechnology of bioenergy plants.

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EDITORIAL
China–U.S. workshop on biotechnology of bioenergy plants
C. Neal Stewart Jr•Lee Shugart•Gong-She Liu•
Jie Zhuang•Yongqing Ma•Gerald A. Tuskan•
Richard Meilan•Randall W. Gentry•Gary S. Sayler
Published online: 5 December 2009
? Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2009
The China and U.S. economies are the globally dominant
drivers of fossil fuel consumption and release of green-
house gases and are thus strategically linked to the sus-
tainable development of sustainable, alternative, and
renewable energy sources. Because of the dynamics and
spatial interdependence between human activities and
natural ecosystems, a major challenge arises: how to
operate a renewable-energy economy within the ecological
constraints of the biosphere. Renewable energy utilizes
bio-based energy technology and other renewable sources
as a substitute for fossil fuels. Although current levels and
types of pollution associated with our present energy uses
will decline, renewable energy technologies will introduce
new environmental challenges that at present are only
partly understood or defined. Therefore, a strategy is nee-
ded to address the uncertainty of these new activities, while
attempting to protect natural ecological processes in order
to sustain biological resources. Thus, we presume that the
combination of more intensive growth of agriculture and
the production of bioenergy plants coupled with more
sustainable management practices is an end goal worthy of
scientific pursuit. The biotechnology of bioenergy plants
will be an important component of this strategy as faster
plant growth, pest resistance, and many other plant char-
acteristics that will be required to meet these goals, many
of which cannot be achieved in a reasonable time frame via
conventional breeding.
China and the U.S. are natural partners for the devel-
opment of biofuel technologies. Although there are dif-
ferences in some aspects of their agriculture, natural
resources, economy, and society, the two nations share
many interests with respect to the environment, climate
change, and scientific pursuits. In both the U.S. and China,
it is hoped that the emerging bioenergy industry will give
rise to a robust new rural economy in which ethanol
and other biofuel and bioproduct production will meet
C. N. Stewart Jr (&)
Department of Plant Sciences, The University of Tennessee,
Knoxville, TN 37966, USA
e-mail: nealstewart@utk.edu
C. N. Stewart Jr ? G. A. Tuskan ? G. S. Sayler
BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, USA
L. Shugart
LR Shugart & Associates, Inc., Oak Ridge, TN 37831-5564,
USA
G.-S. Liu
Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing,
China
J. Zhuang ? R. W. Gentry
Institute for a Secure & Sustainable Environment,
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
Y. Ma
Institute of Soil & Water Conservation, Chinese Academy
of Science, 712100 Yangling, Shaanxi, China
G. A. Tuskan
Environmental Sciences Division,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge,
TN 37830, USA
R. Meilan
Department of Forestry & Natural Resources and the Center
for the Environment, Purdue University, West Lafayette,
IN 47907-2061, USA
G. S. Sayler
Center for Environmental Biotechnology,
Department of Microbiology, The University of Tennessee,
Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
123
Ecotoxicology (2010) 19:1–3
DOI 10.1007/s10646-009-0448-5

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mandates by expanding and diversifying to non-food, cel-
lulosic feedstocks to meet current and future demand. The
U.S. Department of Energy has completed the ‘‘Billion-
Ton Study’’ describing how cellulosic feedstocks derived
from our forests and dedicated bioenergy crops, such as
switchgrass and poplar, are needed in order to achieve
transportation biofuel goals over the next two decades
(Perlack et al. 2005). In China, the government and
renewable energy industry are poised to capitalize on the
marketing potential of biofuels. China reports that a com-
parable billion tons of cellulosic material may be available
annually for biofuel produced from agricultural wastes
(NDRC 2007; Wang and Li 2007). China’s twenty-first
Century Agenda emphasizes renewable energy as a foun-
dation for development in its Medium and Long-term
Development Plan for Renewable Energy, which targets 30
GW of biomass power based on agricultural and forestry
wastes and energy plants by 2020 (NDRC 2007).
Biomass production is facing many grand challenges in
view of limits of available natural resources, such as land
and water. Large-scale production of bioenergy will require
a diverse suite of plants that tolerate environmental stresses
in land not used for food and fiber crops and whose bio-
mass is easy to convert to biofuels and bioproducts. In this
regard, biotechnology offers huge potential for making
breakthroughs in the near future. The use of biotechnology
to improve bioenergy plants is currently developing very
rapidly in the U.S. and China. For instance, The University
of Tennessee, through its Biofuels Initiative (http://www.
utbioenergy.org/TNBiofuelsInitiative), key industrial tech-
nology providers, and the BioEnergy Science Center
(http://bioenergycenter.org), are developing and demon-
strating the potential of cellulosic biomass (switchgrass and
poplar) asafeedstockforethanolproduction.Researchersat
Purdue University are modifying lignin composition in
poplar in an attempt to improve its utility as a bioenergy
feedstock. In northwestern China, research on drought-
tolerant switchgrass is ongoing, while in east China many
new species of energy plants, such as sorghum, are being
studiedandconsideredforindustrialconversiontobioenergy.
To create opportunities for key Chinese and U.S.
researchers to develop relationships and discuss the
potential for scientific exchange, collaboration, and joint
student education in this emerging bioenergy arena, the
China–U.S. Joint Research Center for Ecosystem and
Environmental Change co-sponsored a topical workshop
on ‘‘Biotechnology of Bioenergy Plants’’ that was held in
Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, on November 16–17, 2009.
Specifically, the goals of the workshop were to: a) review
the current advances in biological research on bioenergy
plants, b) discuss future research directions of relevant
bioenergy technologies, and c) identify joint research/
education programs in plant biotechnology that need to be
developed between China and the U.S. Pertinent organi-
zational information (i.e., agenda, participants, etc.) for this
topical workshop can be found on the Joint Research
Center’s website (http://isse.utk.edu/jrceec).
Approximately 35 oral and poster presentations ranging
from a marriage between the photosynthetic apparatus and
material science to produce novel solar energy sources, to
very applied aspects of switchgrass agronomy. Most pre-
sentationsfocusedontheligno-cellulosicfeedstocksthatare
targets of the BioEnergy Science Center: poplar (Populus
spp.)andswitchgrass(Panicumvirgatum)(MillerandKeller
2009). Poplar genomics and biotechnology flows from
advanced tools including the availability of a sequenced
genome (Tuskan et al. 2006). Association genetics and
genomics are poised to be powerful technologies for further
advancement of germplasm characteristics tailored for spe-
cific traits, such as cell-wall composition. As an example,
data were presented on the effects of altering lignin com-
position in transgenic poplars by up- and down-regulating
strategic genes in the lignin biosynthetic pathway.
Switchgrass has emerged as a promising herbaceous
perennial feedstock because of its very wide adaptability,
high biomass yield, and newly improved biotechnology
methodologies (e.g., Burris et al. 2009). Of special interest
was work described in growing switchgrass on the Loess
Plateau in Shaanxi Province and Ningxia Autonomous
Region in northwestern of China. The Loess Plateau con-
tains highly degraded soil in a semi-arid environment
(300–400 mm annual rainfall), where a 20,000 non-
domesticated plant species selection test were performed
and found the best growing plant was switchgrass (Ichizen
et al. 1993, 2005). These efforts to establish switchgrass
cultivation there has provided a new source of forage for
cattle and sheep. Perhaps switchgrass would be an appro-
priate choice of feedstock for China too.
It was recognized that no single plant species will serve
all bioenergy feedstock needs, but that diversity of adap-
tation will affect which plants are chosen for region and
application (Wright 1994; Yuan et al. 2008). The group
identified several projects worthy of joint research, in
which mutual interest and synergies were clearly evident.
These studies include the molecular analysis of switchgrass
variability on the stress-selected accessions on the Loess
Plateau, and analysis of cell-wall constituents. In northern
China, Yang grass (Leymus chinensis) is one of the most
important grasses, and is adapted to cool, dry habitats.
Abiotic stress tolerance genes and wounding-induced genes
from this grass discovered from GS-FLX (454) next-gen-
eration sequencing might be transferred to both woody and
herbaceous bioenergy plants using genetic engineering
techniques. In southern China, a woody energy plant,
Jatropha curcas, was collected for evaluation for biodiesel
production. However, seed production and cold resistance
2 C. N. Stewart Jr. et al.
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could limit widespread use of this woody energy plant in
much of the China and U.S. Several other projects were
discussed. These included the development of terpene-
based fuels to novel plant oils whose chemical properties
are being characterized, as well as their emissions during
engine tests. Therefore, the Center envisages multidisci-
plinary approaches to address bioenergy problems that will
be mutually beneficial to both the U.S. and China, and
performed in cooperative efforts.
At this time, there are few funds earmarked for such
joint bilateral projects, and therefore, regular research
grants from each country can be (and have been) leveraged
by collaborators with funds from U.S. institutions and the
Chinese Academy of Science. Nonetheless, it appears that
U.S. funding agencies such as NSF and USDA-NIFA could
well increase targeted funds for such international coop-
eration. From the U.S. perspective, the combination of a
China’s burgeoning economy and scientific capacity is
unequaled as a partner. From the Chinese perspective,
respected U.S. universities and mature science culture
could be helpful for training young scientists. To that end,
post-doc exchanges are currently underway and student
exchanges are being seriously discussed, and should be
underway in 2010. These personnel exchanges follow plant
germplasm transfers that have resulted in successful
establishments and are spurring scientific synergies.
The enthusiastic support of the November 2009 work-
shop (approximately 50 attendees), including registrants
from industry, led to calls for annual workshops to discuss
bioenergy, plant genomics, biotechnology, and bioprocess-
ing. The next meeting is tentatively planned to take place in
Beijing, China, in the summer of 2010. Pre- or post-con-
ference field trips to Xi’An, to tour a switchgrass site on the
Loess Plateau of northwest China and to Xishuangbanna for
tropical forest site in southwestern China, will also be
arranged. We believe the structure of a joint center among
closely allied institutions between these key countries
foreshadows the structure of collaborative research in the
twenty-first century, since it optimizes exchanges of mate-
rials, scientists, and scientific discoveries in socially and
culturally enriching context that is economically favorable.
Indeed, such efforts will certainly be required if we are to
meet the very challenging environmental and energy prob-
lemsthatarefacingtheU.S.,China,andtherestoftheworld.
Acknowledgments
funding the workshop: Chinese Academy of Science, Joint Institute
for Biological Sciences, Southeastern Sun Grant Center, University of
Tennessee AgResearch, Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Envi-
ronment, and Office of Bioenergy Programs. Thanks also are due to
Sherry Redus for the logistical organization of the workshop and
Michelle Hassler for editorial assistance.
We wish to thank the following entities for
References
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