Overview of BiofuelsSince the rise of the Model-T and reliance on automobiles, America strives even today to create efficient, environmentally safe, and cheap ways to fuel vehicles, lawnmowers, snow blowers, and so on. However, in the last century, the dependency on petroleum has severely impacted American economy and environment negatively. Research focusing on finding renewable sources of energy, and less toxic fuels is on the rise, especially through manipulated production of lipids, polysaccharides, alcohol, and hydrocarbons. Although gasoline currently contains roughly 10% ethanol, which in considered a biofuel, researchers continue to search for alternative ways to decrease reliance on crude oil. Essentially, the study of biofuels aims to uncover more beneficial forms of fuel from plants and other proteins that will decrease economic and environment tension.
Interview with Dr. Luke Moe Luke Moe, professor of ABT460 and ABT495 is a major stakeholder in the biofuel controversy. At the University of Kentucky, he teaches upper level courses on genetics, and is also an upper level agricultural biotechnology advisor. His research consists of breaking down the energy components in fuel, determining their genetic code, and attempting to modify alternative organisms to replicate the fuel source in a less harmful way. Because genetic engineering is the basis of his research, and because the field of biofuels is rapidly advancing, with more funding for research, new sources of fuel could be discovered within the next century. However, Dr. Moe argues that these findings are a long way away, and that research must persist at a level of high intensity in order to achieve the best possible results for energy while remaining environmentally safe.
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Genetic Engineering in BiofuelsSpecifically, increased research in biofuels intends to take stable, energy efficient, renewable genes out of plant-like organisms and secrete them into proteins to create a synthetic form of fuel. The most common forms of biofuel currently are sugar and starches that come from ethanol, and corn based sources. However, the fuel demands both national and international prove that corn based fuels are limited, and cannot be a long-term solution to the fuel problem.
Yet additional breakthroughs in biofuels have occurred with algae. Cellulosic biomass, found in abundance in the cell wall of plants and algae, serves as an abundant and renewable source of fuel. Thus far, biofuels produced by algae include: biodiesel, triglycerides, fatty acids, lipids, and long chain carbohydrates. These produce starches and sugars, ethanol, and other forms of fuel that will hopefully be used in the next few decades. Algae possess certain metabolic properties relevant to biofuel production such as the accumulation of triacylglycerol and the synthesis of storage for starches. Geneticists are working on sequencing the genome of algae in order to isolate genes that are sustainable and provide an increased source of energy. While rapid advances have been made in determining the proteins in algae to use for fuel production, manipulation and further modifications must occur in order to produce high levels of biofuels that fits the harvest and fuel requirements. With more in depth research, geneticists can almost guarantee that manipulating algae will produce a more effective source of fuel that genetically modified corn. In order to reach this goal, scientists need a vast knowledge of algae, to characterize a large number of algae species, and the genetic breeding tools necessary to use sunlight as energy for reproduction of the desired traits in algae. |