X

Creating plants with a kill switch (photos)

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack visits an agriculture start-up in the Boston area that is genetically engineering proteins for energy crops to make biofuels.

Martin LaMonica
Martin LaMonica is a senior writer covering green tech and cutting-edge technologies. He joined CNET in 2002 to cover enterprise IT and Web development and was previously executive editor of IT publication InfoWorld.
Martin LaMonica
robotvilsack.jpg
1 of 5 Martin LaMonica/CNET

Lab robots at work

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, left, visited Boston-area start-up Agrivida last week to tour the biotech company's lab. Agrivida has received grant money from the Departments of Agriculture and Energy to research a method of speeding up biofuel production from non-food plants. Its technique is to isolate and insert specific genes into plants that break down the cellulose in the cell walls of sorghum and corn stover, the residue from corn harvesting. To sift through the hundreds of thousands of enzymes scientists are trying to isolate, it uses this robot to rapidly scan different enzymes. Showing him how it operates is Agrivida biochemist Taran Shilling.

See related story: "Agrivida teaches biofuel crops to self destruct."

assarytray.jpg
2 of 5 Martin LaMonica/CNET

Assay plates

Once enzymes are isolated, they are dyed in assay plates such as this one. The dye is used to indicate how long the enzymes live. Agrivida has processed 600,000 enzymes this year and more than 2 million in the past few years. So far it has genetically engineered 10 enzymes. "It's a big numbers game," said CEO Mark Wong.

tissuesfridge.jpg
3 of 5 Martin LaMonica/CNET

Incubating tissues

Once specific enzymes are chosen, they are grown in a type of bacteria that can be incubated and then introduced into plant cells. The plants then grow with enzymes in them in a dormant state. To activate the cellulose-chopping function in plants, Agrivida is developing another enzyme that will act as a "switch." The switch is activated after harvest by exposing plants to high temperatures or through other methods.

transgenic_plants.jpg
4 of 5 Martin LaMonica/CNET

Transgenic plants

Once the genes are transferred into plants, Agrivida technicians grow these transgenic plants in the lab. Growing the proteins in the plant allows them to test the effectiveness of their process. The company has a larger greenhouse facility as well. Testing the genetic traits in plants, rather than in micro-organisms, gives researchers an accurate idea of how the enzymes will operate in the field.

Vilsacklab.jpg
5 of 5 Martin LaMonica/CNET

Sugar-making mettle

In the final stage done here, different strains of plants are tested for their ability make sugars. In some tests, Agrivida has found that its process can improve the sugar output by 50 percent compared to traditional cellulosic ethanol processes. Those sugars are then fermented to make ethanol or converted into other fuels and specialty chemicals. Here an Agrivida employee explains the technology to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack (on left).

More Galleries

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera
A houseplant

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera

20 Photos
Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra
magic-v2-2024-foldable-1383

Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra

10 Photos
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum
Samsung Galaxy S24

The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum

23 Photos
Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design
The Galaxy S24 Ultra in multiple colors

Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design

23 Photos
I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites
img-0368.jpg

I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites

34 Photos
17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About
Invitation for the Apple September iPhone 15 event

17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About

18 Photos
AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?
img-1599-2.jpg

AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?

17 Photos