title: Biotechnology Towards Energy Crops.
abstract: New crops are gradually establishing along with cultivation systems to reduce reliance on depleting fossil fuel reserves and sustain better adaptation to climate change. These biological assets could be efficiently exploited as bioenergy feedstocks. Bioenergy crops are versatile renewable sources with the potential to alternatively contribute on a daily basis towards the coverage of modern society's energy demands. Biotechnology may facilitate the breeding of elite energy crop genotypes, better suited for bio-processing and subsequent use that will improve efficiency, further reduce costs, and enhance the environmental benefits of biofuels. Innovative molecular techniques may improve a broad range of important features including biomass yield, product quality and resistance to biotic factors like pests or microbial diseases or environmental cues such as drought, salinity, freezing injury or heat shock. The current review intends to assess the capacity of biotechnological applications to develop a beneficial bioenergy pipeline extending from feedstock development to sustainable biofuel production and provide examples of the current state of the art on future energy crops.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855, Athens, Greece. theonimarg@aua.gr.
authors.forename: Theoni
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Margaritopoulou
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855, Athens, Greece. roka.loukia@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Loukia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Roka
authors.affiliation: Center for Renewable Energy Sources, 19th Km Marathonos Ave, 19009, Pikermi, Greece. ealex@cres.gr.
authors.forename: Efi
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Alexopoulou
authors.affiliation: Center for Renewable Energy Sources, 19th Km Marathonos Ave, 19009, Pikermi, Greece. mchrist@cres.gr.
authors.forename: Myrsini
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Christou
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855, Athens, Greece. srigas@aua.gr.
authors.forename: Stamatis
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rigas
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece. kharalamp@biol.uoa.gr.
authors.forename: Kosmas
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Haralampidis
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855, Athens, Greece. dmilioni@aua.gr.
authors.forename: Dimitra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Milioni
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed / Q000191:economics; D056804:Biofuels / Q000191:economics; D018533:Biomass; D001709:Biotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D057231:Climate Change; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development*; D000069600:Plant Breeding / Q000379:methods*; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci; D059205:Renewable Energy
chemical_list: D056804:Biofuels
keywords: Biofuels; Biomass; Biotechnology; Climate change; Energy crops