Federal grant to help Danforth scientists find drought genes
- July 24, 2014
The Danforth Plant Science Center announced Wednesday a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Departments of Energy and Agriculture to map the genes that control drought response in grasses used as biofuels.
Todd Mockler, the lead scientist on the project, said the roughly three-year undertaking will monitor the physiological and genetic responses to drought in a grass known as Brachypodium. Small and easy to study, the grass is similar to plants such as switchgrass that are grown for energy.