Achievement

IGERT trainees and faculty are working with the Kansas State University departments of Biology, Biological & Agricultural Engineering, Agronomy, and Grain Science to develop new research methods for the determination of enzyme activity in stored biomass. New methods include developing and using the 96-well plate format and fluorometric enzyme assay for sorghum biomass. To date, the fluorometric assay has not been used for any substrates other than soils. Through this interdisciplinary research, these methods are beginning to show enzymatic activity in sorghum biomass far sooner than is seen in traditional methods of detection.