New discoveries in the College of Science laboratory of Richard Dixon, Distinguished Research Professor of biological sciences and associate director of UNT's BioDiscovery Institute, could help develop biomass crops better suited for processing into products such as aviation fuel, plastics and other industrial products.

Dixon and researchers Xin Wang, a visiting scientist, and postdoctoral fellow Chunliu Zhuo recently published their findings in Plant Cell, the nation's top plant science journal. The research, in collaboration with Oakridge National Laboratory's Center for Bioenergy Innovation, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, is part of the biotechnology industry's goal to genetically modify crops to be more efficiently processed into these valuable products.

Their work involves lignin, the substance that makes plants woody and firm and helps them stand upright.