Joe Cornelius - ARPA-E - U.S. Department of Energy

18 Pages·2014·2.99 MB·English

by  Alfred Joseph Cornelius

Accelerating Bioenergy Crop Development
Next Generation Phenotyping: Biology x Engineering x Computer Science
ADVANCED
PHENOTYPING
SYSTEMS
1
Bioenergy Crops – Fueling the Future

• The Opportunity: Unlocking Agricultural Genetic Potential

• The Breakthrough: High Throughput Phenotyping Systems

• Program Straw Model: We Can Do It Better

2
20th Century: The Green Revolution
1900 1950 1975 2000
2010: 1 Farmer
Feeds 155 People
< 2% of Workforce
Biotechnology
Agronomy
Pest Control
1949: 1 Farmer
Feeds 19 People
Fertilizer
1900: 1 Farmer Breeding
Feeds a Family
41% of Workforce Mechanization
Employed on the Farm
22 M 6 M 5 M 2 M
Work Animals Farms Tractors Farms
3
21st Century: Knowledge Farming
1900 1950 1990 2010 21st Century
50 years 40 years 20 years

Mechanized Green Biotechnology Precision Knowledge
Farming Revolution 2nd Green Agriculture Farming
Revolution
(Data – Rich)
Agronomy Breeding Agronomic Traits Yield Integrated ‘omics
Monitors Genomics
Tractors & Tillage Hybrids Quality Traits
Proteomics

Fertilizer Crop Genetics GPS/GIS Metabolomics
Protection Transcriptomics
Molecular Auto Guidance
Chemistry
Phenomics
Breeding Navigation

Irrigation

Markers Digital Ag
Variable Rate
Technology High Performance
Computational

Soil Sampling Analytics
“A major challenge for crop

production in the 21st Century Real Time Sensing
Data
is how to predict crop Collection Remote & Proximal
performance as a function of Imaging Systems
Autonomous
genetic architecture.”
Robotics and UAS
ANALOG DIGITIZATION DATAFICATION
41 percent of 1.9 percent
labor force worked of labor force worked
in agriculture (1900) in agriculture (2000)
4
Agriculture and Forestry are Important Renewable Resources
U.S. Total Primary Energy Consumption 2011
Renewable Energy by Source
Quadrillion Btu
4
Natural Gas 3.5
Coal
26%
20%
3
2.5
97.3
Renewable
9.2
Quads Quads 9.5% 2
1.5
Nuclear
8%
1
0.5
Petroleum
36% 0
5
U.S. Energy Information Administration. Annual Energy Review 2011. September 27, 2012.
U.S. has the capability to deliver billion-ton feedstock for
bioenergy in addition to food and export
Potential 6-12x Growth in Biomass from U.S. Agriculture
(Corn, Soybean, Sorghum, Wheat, Other Grains, Cotton, Sugarcane, Miscanthus, Switchgrass, Popular, Willow, Pine, Eucalyptus, Other)
1400
Million Dry Tons Incremental Growth
1203
1200 2-4% High Yield
Growth Scenario
+ 1100
1000 910 7.7
Quads
800
665
1-2% Baseline Yield
Growth Scenario
600
490 503
+ 562
3.9
400 Quads
293
244
High
200
162
103 103 103
Baseline
85
Current
0
Conversion: (U.S. DOE 2011)
2012 2017 2022 2030 •83.8 gal EtOH per dry ton
•1 Quad = 12 B gal EtOH
U.S. Department of Energy. 2011. U.S. Billion-Ton Update: Biomass Supply for a Bioenergy and Bioproducts Industry. ORNL. 6
However, we are off the pace, evidenced by declining rates of
genetic gain and suboptimal investments in bioenergy crops
3
Percent

h
t 1961-90 1990-2007
w “Rates of
o 2.47
r 2.5 improvement in
G 2.34

d
yield for many
les
e
iYir 2 cropping systems
ftn
ou
o are below the 1.16-
sC
e
e 1.48
tam1.5 1.31%/y-1 rates
Ro
lacnI 1.14 required to meet
u h 1.07
ng
niH 1 projected demand
A
for crops.”
e Hall et.al.
g 0.54
a
r 0.5
e
v
A
0.06
0.02
0
Corn Wheat Rice Soybean
• FAOSTAT 2009
• Prognosis for genetic improvement of yield potential of major grain crops. A. J. Hall, R. A. Richards, Field Crops Research, 143 (2013) 18-33.
7
Our greatest opportunity to increase the supply of
agricultural feedstock's is in closing the yield gap
C4 Monocot Example: Sugarcane
500
472 t ha-1 yr-1 Theoretical Maximum Yield

450 - 82%
1 400
-

y
1 350
-

a
h
300 YG
t Biomass T

d 219.0 t ha-1 yr-1
le 250 72.4 g m-2 d-1
i 212 t ha-1 yr-1 Current Yield Ceiling
Y

e 200
n - 60%
a
148 t ha-1 yr-1
c 150 YG
r P
a Biomass
- 43%
g 98.0 t ha-1 yr-1 YG
u F
S 100 27.0 g m-2 d-1 Biomass 84 t ha-1 yr-1

69.0 t ha-1 yr-1
50 18.8 g m-2 d-1 Biomass
39.0 t ha-1 yr-1
10.7 g m-2 d-1
0
Theoretical Experimental Commercial Commercial
Maximum Maximum Maximum Average
100% 45% 31% 18%
of Theoretical of Theoretical of Theoretical

USDA, ARS, US Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center and Hawaii Agricultural Research Center 8
Our greatest opportunity to close the yield gap and develop
better feedstock is advanced crop phenotyping
Sequencing is No Longer a Bottleneck Achieved Automated Plant Imaging
$6,000.00
DNA sequencing ($/Mb)
$5,000.00
$4,000.00
$3,000.00
$2,000.00
$1,000.00
$0.00
DNA sequencing ($/Mb) Single Plant Green House Systems
Field Phenotyping in its Infancy… not continuous, automated or fast

9
ARPA-E Program Aspirations
Advanced Bioenergy Crop Phenotyping is the Catalyst
Reduced Energy Imports Improved Energy Efficiency Reduced GHG Emissions
Improve Genetic Gain and Decrease Use of Fuel, Decrease Greenhouse Gas and
Grower Adoption Fertilizer, Water, Chemicals Increase Carbon Capture
200 – 400% Increase 25% Reduction 25% Reduction
+4 to 8 Quads

2 Quads 1.7 Quads 10% GHG
Current Ag Based Current Current
Fertilizer accounts for more than half of
indirect energy use on U.S. Farms in 2011.
U.S. agriculture accounts for ~10%
of total GHG emissions in 2012.
10
EPA: Sources of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions 2012