Methane emissions dramatically reduced compared to common rice
November 24, 2015 
RICHLAND, Wash. - The creation of a new kind of rice which gives off nearly zero greenhouse gas emissions during its growth has earned kudos for a team of scientists from 3 continents, including the lead investigator at the D.O.E.'s Pacific Northwest National Lab.
The new kind of rice grows in a manner that nearly eliminates the production of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. And rice is a big source of methane: Scientists estimate that somewhere in the neighborhood of eight to 15 percent of global methane emissions come from rice paddies around the world. Methane is 20 times more efficient at trapping heat in atmosphere than its better-known counterpart, carbon dioxide, making the team's contribution especially important for climate issues.
The research has been acknowledged with a "Best of What's New" award for 2015 by Popular Science. The work was named the grand prize winner in the magazine's engineering category, one of ten categories in which a total of 100 research developments around the globe were recognized. The awards are described in the December issue of the magazine.
PNNL scientist Christer Jansson led the team; he is director of plant sciences at EMSL, the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a D.O.E. user facility at PNNL. For in excess of a decade he has worked closely with Chuanxin Sun of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, who has contributed significantly to the research on rice. The 2 published a research paper about the rice in July in Nature, together with other researchers at the Swedish institution and colleagues at China's Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Hunan Agricultural University.
To create the rice, the team identified a gene in barley that directs how that plant uses carbon, then spliced that gene into common rice. The change redirected the way the rice plant uses the carbon it pulls from the atmosphere, causing the plant to send more carbon into the plant's grain and stems and less into its roots.
That change increases the amount of starch and the yield of rice and reduces the carbon accessible to the roots, where bacteria convert much of the substance into methane.
"This is a win-win finding," said Jansson, a plant biochemist. "The process results in reduced methane emissions, which helps to mitigate climate change, and also results in more biomass - more food. This dual effect is very positive."
Much of Jansson's work focuses on understanding how plants absorb light and tap water and carbon to carry out photosynthesis. The work is central to scientists who investigate "bioenergy," which involves creating or tapping biological materials for energy. Jansson has worked with crops like sorghum, rice and tobacco to discover new ways to create plants that offer novel energy traits.
Backing for this research was provided by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, the Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning, the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Carl Tryggers Foundation. Most of Jansson's current research is funded by the D.O.E.'s Office of Science and ARPA-E.
Tags: Energy, Environment, Fundamental Science, EMSL, Awards and Recognizes, Biomass, Biofuel, Energy Production, Climate Science, Biology, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
EMSL, the Environmental Molecular Sciences Lab, is a national scientific user facility sponsored by the D.O.E.'s Office of Science. Located at Pacific Northwest National Lab in Richland, Wash., EMSL offers an open, collaborative environment for scientific discovery to researchers around the world. Its integrated computational and experimental resources enable researchers to realize important scientific insights and create new technologies. Follow EMSL on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Interdisciplinary teams at Pacific Northwest National Lab address many of America's most pressing issues in energy, the environment and national security through advances in basic and applied science. Founded in 1965, PNNL employs 4,400 staff and has an yearly budget of nearly $1 billion. It is managed by Battelle for the D.O.E.'s Office of Science. As the single biggest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, the Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information on PNNL, visit the PNNL News Center, or follow PNNL on Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and Twitter.
