Apr 04, 2014 12:17 PM EDT By Jaleesa Baulkman, UniversityHerald Reporter

Researchers have designed trees that will make it easier to produce paper and biofuel.

The genetically engineered trees are being considered a breakthrough that will lead to using fewer chemicals, less energy and creating fewer environmental pollutants, according to a press release.

"One of the largest impediments for the pulp and paper industry as well as the emerging biofuel industry is a polymer found in wood known as lignin," Shawn Mansfield, a professor of Wood Science at the University of British Columbia, said in a statement.

Lignin makes up a substantial portion of the cell wall of most plants "and is a processing impediment for pulp, paper and biofuel," researchers said. Currently the lignin must be removed, a process that requires significant chemicals and energy and causes undesirable waste.

The structure of lignin naturally contains ether bonds that are difficult to degrade. Researchers used genetic engineering to introduce ester bonds into the lignin backbone that are easier to break down chemically.

"We're designing trees to be processed with less energy and fewer chemicals, and ultimately recovering more wood carbohydrate than is currently possible," Mansfield said.

Researchers had previously tried to tackle this problem by reducing the quantity of lignin in trees by suppressing genes, which often resulted in trees that are stunted in growth or were susceptible to wind, snow, pests and pathogens.

Researchers predict that, in the future, genetically modified trees could be planted like an agricultural crop, not in native forests. Poplar is a potential energy crop for the biofuel industry because the tree grows quickly and on marginal farmland. Lignin makes up 20 to 25 percent of the tree.

"It is truly a unique achievement to design trees for deconstruction while maintaining their growth potential and strength," Mansfield said.

Researchers at the University of British Columbia, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Michigan State University collaborated on the design. 

The study, which was funded by the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, was recently published in Science. 

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