FIELD TRIAL
INDUSTRY NEWS Lignin modifi ed poplar trees I
t was announced on 30 December, 2013, that the results of a fi eld trial with genetically modifi ed poplar trees in Zwijnaarde, Belgium, shows that the wood of lignin modifi ed poplar trees can be converted into sugars in a more effi cient way. These sugars can serve as the starting material for producing bio-based products like bio-plastics and bio-ethanol. The results of the fi eld trial have been published in a scientifi c article in which the results of a fi eld trial of French colleagues of the INRA institute in Orleans have been incorporated. The article has been published in the online edition of PNAS*. However, the fi eld trial also showed that the suppression of the lignin biosynthesis in the trees is variable. In some trees, the suppression is stronger than in other trees, which is visible through a more pronounced red colouration of the wood beneath the bark. Some branches
MATERIALS HANDLING
Cooper plans for growth
Mantsinen LH32 log stacker.
Plans announced by Cooper Specialised Handling Ltd involve a major restructuring of its materials handling business to
8 January 2014 8
expand the company’s presence in both the smaller forklift and specialised handling markets. Following a strategic review,
three distinct business units are being created. These will be dedicated to driving growth in the short-term rental
marketplace and service/parts support while also building on an already strong reputation in the heavy handling and volume materials handling arenas. Cooper Handling Group Ltd is the holding company, which incorporates Cooper Specialised Handling Ltd, Cooper Materials Handling Ltd and Cooper Handling Solutions Ltd. The three new businesses will operate out of Cooper’s established base in Honiley, Warwickshire, UK, and a brand new facility in Greater Manchester.
Cooper Specialised Handling Ltd will continue to focus on developing sales of Konecranes and Mantsinen equipment to end-users and independent dealers in the specialised handling sector. The business
Left: Logs from wild poplar tree. Right: Wood of GM tree showing the typical red colouration of the wood in which the CCR-enzyme has been suppressed.
show almost no red colouration, others a spotty pattern and again others a full red colouration. The branches with the highest red colouration produce 160% more ethanol. On the whole, the ethanol yield per gram of wood is 20% higher. This in itself is positive, except for the fact that
the modifi ed trees appear to grow somewhat less rapidly than non- modifi ed poplar trees. Professor Wout Boerjan of VIB stated, “The branches with the highest red colouration give us hope that we will be able to achieve our goal in the future. The biosynthesis of lignin is very
complex. We will now search for modifi cations that provide a strong and uniform suppression of the lignin biosynthesis. Because in the meantime we are also getting a pretty good idea of what causes the growth retardation, we immediately will start to work on poplars that grow normally, but
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