Michael Metzlaff Crop Productivity Research Bayer Bio Science

Michael Metzlaff Crop Productivity Research Bayer Bio. Science, Gent, Belgium Oktober 2007

12. 000 Jahre Domestikation von Pflanzen… Osiris Ägyptischer Gott der Vegetation und des Todes

« Landleben » Kupferstich Mittelalter

Current Status of Agriculture (2006) [Source: International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (www. isaaa. org)] • global crops $1. 7 trillion on 1. 5 billion hectares of arable land, seed market of $30 billion, crop protection $34 billion • despite increase in crop production world cereal reserves down for the 5 th consecutive year to 9% of consumption • rice production lower than consumption for the 4 th year in a row with reserves at 20 year low, i. e. 2005 production 402 million MT vs. 418 demand • poverty afflicts 1. 3 billion people and 852 million suffer from hunger and malnutrition – 24, 000 people a day die from malnutrition • challenge to at least double food, feed & fiber production by 2050 and deliver on pledge to reduce poverty/hunger by 50% by 2015

“The 21 th Century Challenge” Ensuring attainable crop yield in a sustainable agriculture In the background of: a fast growing human population à urgent need for more food/feed production on +/- constant arable land competition for water more extreme climatic conditions contribution to renewable energy

WE ARE ENTERING A PERIOD OF MORE INTENSIVE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION Foley Science 309; 570

Solar Can provide for 7, 000 x our current global energy consumption From: Basic Research Needs for Solar Energy Utilization, DOE 2005

PLANTS PRODUCE SUGAR and O 2 FROM SUNLIGHT AND CO 2 Carbon Dioxide (CO 2) O 2 Sugar Starch Cellulose Lignocellulose

The Earth’s carbon “metabolism” • False-colour map - rate at which plants absorbed carbon (C) out of the atmosphere in 2002 • Global annual average of net productivity of vegetation on land in ocean • Yellow and red areas show the highest rates (2 to 3 kg C taken in per m 2 per year) • Green, blue and purple shades show progressively lower productivity. Source NASA Earth Observatory

Genomics Transcriptomics The Era of (Systems) Biology RNAi Proteomics Metabolomics

Bioenergy Research: An Opportunity to Contribute to Sustainability and to Wealth Creation

GLOBAL ENERGY SOURCES 2006

SOURCE BP

EU 27 BIODIESEL PRODUCTION 2006. EUROPEAN BIODIESEL BOARD

US Biomass inventory = 1. 3 billion tons ~ 3 tons/acre Corn stover 19. 9% Wheat straw 6. 1% Soy 6. 2% Crop residues 7. 6% Grains 5. 2% Perennial crops 35. 2% Manure 4. 1% Urban waste 2. 9% Forest 12. 8% From: Billion ton Vision, DOE & USDA 2005

Plants are mostly composed of sugars in several different forms: Starch, Sugars, 1 st Generation Biofuels Oils • also food source • corn, sugarcane, sugar beet, wheat • easily fermented to ethanol or extracted directly for biodiesel production Cell Wall Materials 2 nd Generation Biofuels • cellulose and lignocellulose abundantly produced • not a food source • Miscanthus, switch grass, poplar, willow • perennial grasses • difficult to break down • can be fermented to 2 nd generation biofuels

A DOE Ethanol Vision 70 EXISTING Ethanol (Billions of gal/yr) 60 50 EMERGING ADVANCED Sugar Fundamental Platform Advances in -New Enzymes Lignocellulose -Pretreatment Processing -Fermentation and fermentation 40 Cellulose 30 20 10 Grain 0 2005 2010 2015 Year Modified from Richard Bain, NREL 2020 2025

WILLOW IS WELL ADAPTED FOR GROWTH IN NORTHERN EUROPE HIGH YIELD SHORT ROTATION COPPICING EXCELLENT BREEDING RESOURCES PEST AND DROUGHT TOLERANCE BRANCHING GENES IDENTIFIED

MISCANTHUS GIGANTEUS (ELEPHANT GRASS) PERRENIAL- CAPTURES MORE SOLAR ENERGY C 4 PHOTOSYNTHESIS- MORE EFFICIENT HIGH YIELDING- CURRENTLY 16 ODT/HA/YR VERY LOW INPUTS- REMOBILISATION OF RESERVES TO STORAGE RHIZOME HARVEST DRY STALKS IN SPRING POTENTIAL FOR IMPROVING BIODIVERSITY

Advancing Science with DNA Sequence Termites have many specialized enzymes for efficiently digesting lignocellulosic material Cellulases Hemicellulases Glucose, fructose, sucrose Fermentation pathways Mono- & oligomers H 2 & CO 2 Acetate Fermentation pathways

MAINTAINING BIODIVERSITY

Thank you for your attention!