MTU gets money for biofuel research

HOUGHTON, MI--   The federal government says it's giving $2.3 million to Michigan Technological and Michigan State universities for genetic research on improving the efficiency of biofuel production.

The government said Wednesday that the funds come from the U.S. Agriculture and Energy departments for projects that seek to apply biomass genomics to improve "promising biofuel feedstocks."  The departments say they're giving a total of $10 million for eight research projects.

Michigan Tech is getting $1.1 million for a project to analyze genetic traits that affect wood biomass yield and quality. The work involves members of the poplar species.

Michigan State University is getting $1.2 million to analyze how switchgrass responds to different environmental stresses such as drought and high levels of salt.