Creating Designer Yeasts for Ethanol

WASHINGTON - Apr 9/07 - SNS -- A robot recently reported to work at ARS's National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (NCAUR) in Peoria, Illinois, and its arrival was met with enthusiasm by many scientists there.

The robot in question doesn't walk or talk, however. Rather, it's the centerpiece of an automated system called the "plasmid-based functional proteomics work cell." The system's inventors expect it will greatly streamline studies aimed at harnessing the power of proteins for industrial applications, like making fuel ethanol from sugars in corn fiber.

ARS molecular biologist Stephen R. Hughes and Peoria colleagues developed the system, starting in 2004, with an engineering team at Hudson Control Group, Inc., of Springfield, New Jersey. Hudson president Philip J. Farrelly led the team.

Ask Hughes about their patent-pending system, which was published in the May 2006 issue of Proteome Science, and you'll likely get a rapid-fire narration of its history and capabilities.

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