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Oregon State University has been awarded two federal grants totaling $2.4 million to research cellulosic biofuel crops.

OSU researchers are currently working on different ways to produce ethanol from cellulose, the primary structural component of green plants. Researchers hope that instead of relying on food-based biofuels, such as corn, biofuels could be created from alternative sources such as switchgrass and poplar trees.

One project funded by the grant will be to study the role of epigenetics in the development of poplar trees. Another will create a DNA microarray for brachypodium, a small plant closely related to grass with potential as a cellulosic biofuel.

The two grants are part of a joint, $10 million program of the Department of Energy and U.S. Department of Agriculture. OSU was the only university in the West to receive funding.