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DOE OSTI · 3014442

JGI Plant Transformation Workshop, May 20-21, 2025

Blaby, Ian [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); USDOE Joint Genome Institute (JGI), Berkeley, CA (United States)]
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Abstract

Domestic biomass crops such as sorghum, switchgrass, Miscanthus, and poplar can provide United States industries with renewable feedstocks while also supporting low-input farming systems and strengthening supply chains for biofuels, biochemicals and biomaterials. The U.S. leads globally in biomass crop genomics, yet progress in engineering traits is constrained by slow, genotype-dependent transformation methods and lengthy Design-Build-Test-Learn (DBTL) cycles. At a May 2025 workshop, a panel of experts recommended establishing a DOE Plant Transformation Capability (PTC) to overcome these barriers. The PTC would unite two missions: advancing research to achieve genotype-independent, automated methods, and delivering scalable transformation services through a user-facility model. With expected gains of 10–100x in efficiency, including transformation and cost reduction, the PTC would accelerate the path from discovery to engineered plants, expand community access and training, and support downstream applications and workflows including field trials and regulatory navigation. By enabling rapid and predictable crop engineering, the PTC would strengthen U.S. supply chains, enhance industrial competitiveness, and ensure that DOE’s genomic investments deliver national impact.

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Blaby, Ian [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); USDOE Joint Genome Institute (JGI), Berkeley, CA (United States)]. 2025-05-20. JGI Plant Transformation Workshop, May 20-21, 2025. https://doi.org/10.2172/3014442

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