Plant Genome Initiative at Rutgers (PGIR) is pioneering breakthroughs in sequencing sorghum, rice, and maize genomes. PGIR was originally established as a sequencing facility in order to participate in the consortium known as the International Rice Genome Sequencing Project. It is the only participant in the project that is financially supported solely by its own institution. Through the consortium, PGIR has collaborated with research groups from 10 countries including the Arizona Genomics Institute, the Broad Institute at MIT and Harvard, the Munich Information Center for Protein Sequences, and the Danforth Plant Science Center.

BIOSOLAR H2,  a multi-institutional research center, focuses on the chemistry and biology of renewable energy production:

• Inorganic materials for catalysis at electrical interfaces
• Photocatalysis for solar fuels production
• Artificial photosynthesis for solar energy conversion
• Algal biofuels- redirecting metabolism for fuel production

SpirodelaBase - Spirodela Genomics

Description: Genome sequencing of the duckweed Spirodela polyrhiza

The Lemnaceae are the smallest, fastest growing and simplest of flowering plants, representing an overlooked and potentially high-impact biofuel feedstock that is ripe for exploitation. Members of the family Lemnaceae are tiny aquatic monocots that range in size from 1.5 cm long (Spirodela polyrhiza) to less than a millimeter (Wolffia globosa). Many species are currently developed for industrial uses. For instance, the EPA uses Lemna minor to test water quality.