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Title: Switchgrass Genomics

Author
item Tobias, Christian

Submitted to: Bioenergy Feedstocks: Breeding and Genetics
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/7/2012
Publication Date: 3/27/2013
Citation: Tobias, C.M. 2013. Switchgrass Genomics. Bioenergy Feedstocks: Breeding and Genetics. 1:33-48.

Interpretive Summary: The switchgrass genome is being sequenced by the Department of Energy, and there is currently a great deal of gene sequence information, gene expression data, and genome sequence that can be used either in raw format as well as in assembled and analyzed sequence clusters. These resources have been produced using next generation sequencing technology by private and public entities and are available over the web to the public.

Technical Abstract: Bioenergy and biofuels are generated from a wide variety of feedstock. Fuels have been converted from a wide range of sources from vegetable oils to grains and sugarcane. Second generation biofuels are being developed around dedicated, non-food energy crops, such as switchgrass and Miscanthus, with an eye toward bioenergy sustainability. Bioenergy Feedstocks: Breeding and Genetics looks at advances in our understanding of the genetics and breeding practices across this diverse range of crops and provides readers with a valuable tool to improve cultivars and increase energy crop yields. Bioenergy Feedstocks: Breeding and Genetics opens with chapters focusing primarily on advances in the genetics and molecular biology of dedicated energy crops. These chapters provide in-depth coverage of new, high-potential feedstocks. The remaining chapters provide valuable overview of breeding efforts of current feedstocks with specific attention paid to the development of bioenergy traits. Coverage in these chapters includes crops such as sorghum, energy canes, corn, and other grasses and forages.The final chapters explore the role of transgenics in bioenergy feedstock production and the development of low-input strategies for producing bioenergy crops. A timely collection of work from a global team of bioenergy researchers and crop scientists, Bioenergy Feedstocks: Breeding and Genetics is an essential reference on cultivar improvement of biomass feedstock crops.