Duckweed: The Pollution Cleaning, Climate Change Fighting Super Food?
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles 
on 07. 9.08
Image from Wikimedia Commons
Though it may be a bit premature to heap too much praise upon duckweed (Spirodela polyrhiza) -- after all, relatively little is still known about its properties -- the early signs, at least according to a team of Rutgers scientists, seem very promising. A team of plant biologists from Rutgers' Waksman Institute of Microbiology have convinced the DOE to focus resources on the genomic sequencing of the diminutive aquatic plant, claiming it holds immeasurable potential for feeding the planet and fighting both pollution and climate change.
DOE to make duckweed genome's sequencing a priority in 2009
And it's not like the Rutgers team, led by Randall Kerstetter, Joachim Messing and Todd Michael, doesn't know what it's talking about: Its efforts and that of its colleagues have already contributed to the sequencing of several important crops, including rice, corn and sorghum. The DOE's Joint Genome Institute announced earlier this month that its Community Sequencing Program would make the sequencing of duckweed one of its top priorities for 2009 as part of its biomass and bioenergy programs.
Duckweed: a pollution fighting source of food and biofuel
So what potential benefits could a better understanding of duckweed's genome yield? Scientists already know that duckweed can extract excess nitrates and phosphates from agricultural and municipal runoff, slow algal growth (thus putting a damper on eutrophication) and degrade toxic chemicals -- among other pollution-fighting functions.
Its greatest potential, however, could lie in becoming a source of biomass for alternative fuel production. Because individual organisms generate new biomass at a rate faster than any other known flowering plant, duckweed could also do in a pinch as a ready source of high-protein feed for farm animals.
That's why Todd Michael, his Rutgers colleagues and a number of international collaborators are so excited about duckweed's prospects. "The Spirodela genome sequence could unlock the remarkable potential of a rapidly growing aquatic plant for absorbing atmospheric carbon dioxide, ecosystem carbon cycling and biofuel production," said Michael.
Like algae, duckweed plants could eventually be grown in large ponds and processed to produce biofuel and feed for animals. Its potent abilities as a bioremediator could be harnessed simultaneously by growing it in eutrophied ponds.
Via ::Physorg: Duckweed genome sequencing has global implications (news website)
Other "miracle" plants
::Ancient Plant May Become New Source of Biofuel
::Energy: The Peel Deal
::Wonder Berries from Brazil
Follow @TreeHugger on Twitter & get our headlines with @TH_rss!
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- Forget Going Green Because It's the Right Thing to Do—Go Green to Make Your Neighbors Jealous
- Focus Earth: June 13, 2009: Everglades Nevermore and Snake Invaders
- Sharing Garden Chores with a Friend: Hits and Misses
- Is Your Kitchen Garden Toxic? 5 Ways To Fix Polluted Soil For Safe Homegrown Food
- Eat a Vegetarian Diet, Reduce Your Carbon Footprint by a Ton
- Green Glossary: Intellectual Property
.jpg){kind=link}
When I used to keep a tank packed with male guppies, I tried duckweed once. The challenge of keeping a dense tank is that the fish produce enough ammonia to poison themselves, so you have to keep plants growing fast enough to consume the ammonia (requires supplemental CO2 and iron to keep up) and also produce enough oxygen to keep the fish alive (the surface area is insufficient.)
I nearly killed the the tank with duckweed. It is great at taking up ammonia, but it respirates its oxygen into the air instead of the water.
So, when thinking of mass growing of duckweed:
1) Don't expect to have a traditional aquatic ecosystem under it.
2) Remember that anerobic aquatic systems give of lots of bad smelling gas.
Ok so its useful. it doesn't really explain why you need to Sequence the Genome to make use of it..?
Gm is arguably a kind of pollution in its own right.
Cool. If it lives up to the promise, or even close, it'll be a major opportunity.
Who knew? Perhaps if this duckweed study gains more attention, there can be more resources directed to using other plants, such as pineapple, sunflower, and amaranthus to reduce pollution. All of these have a great capacity to remove many toxins, including heavy metals, from polluted water. More:
http://brightfuture.us/new.
I grew duckweed in a settling tank I made to remove solids from a small pond I built. The duckweed multiplied rapidly in the still water. In my pond though, the circulation either killed them or the fish ate them. I gave it a taste once, wasn't bad.
How would it work?
For it to work as a pollution fighter wouldn't it have to be in the bodies of water that are being polluted (rivers, lakes, gulfs)? But that would undoubtedly be a risky introduction (if we can learn our lesson from known invasive species) it could cover the surface of the water and block sunlight.
It's value as food an biofuel I can see easily being implemented by growing it artificial ponds and pools.
However, livestock should be eating grass and I'm increasingly skeptical of biofuels and the new infrastructures they'll require.
(This started out as a curious post. then it went sour. Sorry)