Funding Opportunity Announcement: Systems Biology Research to Advance Sustainable Bioenergy Crop Development

The fund solicits projects on systems-level research to better understand molecular and physiological mechanisms that control bioenergy crop vigor, RUE, resilience/adaptability, etc., and systems biology-enabled investigations on the role of microbial communities on multi-scaled interactions of the plant-soil environment in bioenergy cropping systems. Pre-application due date is November 14, 2014; final applications are due January 16, 2015. Click here for the full announcement.
The Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER) of the Office of Science (SC), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), hereby announces its interest in receiving applications for research that supports the Genomic Science research program (http://genomicscience.energy.gov).
In this FOA, applications are requested for:
i) Systems-level research to better understand the molecular and physiological mechanisms that control bioenergy crop vigor, resource use efficiency, and resilience/adaptability to abiotic stress, as well as interactions with the surrounding environment, in order to increase biomass productivity under changing and at times suboptimal conditions;
ii) Systems biology-enabled investigations into the role(s) of microbial and microbial communities in the complex and multi-scaled interactions of the plant-soil-environment: contribution(s) to bioenergy feedstock plant performance, adaptation, and resilience in the face of a broad range of changing environmental conditions and abiotic stressors (e.g., climate), and the impacts of introducing bioenergy cropping systems on the local ecosystem.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
DOE-BER’s Genomic Science program supports fundamental research to identify the basic principles that drive biological systems. These principles govern translation of the genetic code into integrated networks of proteins, enzymes, regulatory elements, and metabolite pools underlying the functional processes of organisms. To address the DOE mission in sustainable 2 bioenergy development the Genomic Science program brings omics-driven tools of modern systems biology to address key challenges facing the sustainable development of plant feedstocks as an economically and environmentally viable alternative to fossil fuels. The past decade has seen significant advances in systems biology and omics technologies which are beginning to map the complex networks and molecular mechanisms of plant and microbial growth, development, and metabolism. We are now poised to apply these tools to examine the
impact(s) of a fully sustainable, bioenergy agriculture on ecosystems.
Two areas vital to the Nation’s energy and environmental security motivate the BER research agenda: developing cost-effective cellulosic biofuels and improving our ability to understand, predict, and mitigate the impacts of energy production in the face of a changing climate.
Towards this end, BER has invested in plant and plant-microbe research with the goal of advancing production of biofuels from domestic lignocellulosic sources. These efforts have increased our understanding of the biological mechanisms underlying feedstock productivity and facilitated development of next-generation bioenergy crops, knowledge that will promote novel, efficient bioenergy strategies that can be replicated on a mass scale.
Implementation of this new “bioenergy agriculture” is likely to result in significant environmental changes. The components of the environments affected, ranging from hydrologic cycles to rhizosphere microbial communities, are interconnected and interdependent. Understanding the multi-organismal “biofuel crop+soil+microbe ecosystem” presents a unique challenge, which is further complicated by climate variability and change. The ability to predict
plant and microbial species’ responses to a changing environment will be critical to understanding potential environmental impacts as well as for optimizing feedstock production.
Applications are solicited for systems biology-driven basic research on the fundamental principles of sustainable bioenergy feedstocks in relationship to the associated ecosystem, in the following areas:
i. Systems-level research to better understand the molecular and physiological mechanisms that control bioenergy crop vigor, resource use efficiency, and resilience/adaptability to abiotic stress, as well as interactions with the surrounding environment, in order to increase biomass productivity under changing and at times suboptimal conditions. Proposed studies could include but are not limited to: enhancing adaptation to specific environmental conditions through manipulation of phenology; partitioning of photosynthates to various plant tissues, microbial communities, and the rhizosphere; genetic and physiological mechanisms to optimize capture and utilization of water, phosphorous, and nitrogen over the growing season; characterization of ecosystem services provided by bioenergy
feedstocks in various environments and incorporation into breeding objectives.
ii. Systems biology-enabled investigations into the role(s) of microbes and microbial communities in the complex and multi-scaled interactions of the plant-soil-environment: contribution(s) to bioenergy feedstock plant performance, adaptation, and resilience in the face of a broad range of changing environmental conditions and abiotic stressors (e.g.,
climate), and the impacts of introducing bioenergy cropping systems on the local ecosystem. Proposed studies could include but are not limited to: microbiome dynamics 3 associated with particular bioenergy feedstock plants through time and across soil types and climates; microbial effects on soil health and subsequent plant health, and changes during crop establishment/growth; biogeochemical processes (N, C, P) mediated by microbial communities in surrounding agricultural soils; host-symbiont specificity; genomic and environmental factors that regulate microbial sources of the greenhouse gases (GHGs) CO2, CH4, and N2O; mechanisms controlling C inputs to and outputs from the belowground systems of bioenergy crops. READ MORE