Independent technology in development
Enhanced photorespiration bypass
Carbocene is developing enhanced photorespiration bypass, or ePRB, as independent background intellectual property.
Photorespiration causes plants to lose a portion of the carbon and energy captured through photosynthesis. ePRB is intended to reduce that loss and increase the proportion of captured carbon available for plant growth.
- Species-flexible intention across multiple plant backgrounds
- Independent of the licensed poplar line
- Being developed as Carbocene background intellectual property
- Designed for potential future combination with forestry, bamboo, agricultural, and material traits
Developing research direction
Bamboo biotechnology
Construction bamboo species may be a meeting point between biological carbon drawdown and human material civilization: enhanced growth rate, vegetative propagation, structural usefulness, and the possibility of long-lived construction.
Carbocene is defining tractable work in transformation research, tissue culture, biomass, biological durability, dark culm traits, and later material and field evaluation.
Developing research direction
Durable biological materials
Capturing carbon quickly is only one part of the problem. Carbon stored in plant material eventually returns to the atmosphere through decomposition, combustion, or waste.
Carbocene is exploring resistance to fungal and insect degradation, altered wood chemistry, stable pigments and biological polymers, longer-lived materials, and integration with biochar and construction.
The connected question is not only how rapidly a plant grows, but how long its carbon remains in wood, bamboo, fibers, pigments, polymers, biochar, and other useful products.
Exploratory
Biological carbon mineralization
Some biological systems move carbon into mineral forms that may persist longer than ordinary biomass.
Carbocene is exploring early concepts involving microbial and plant-associated mineralization, including oxalate-carbonate pathways.
Licensed living research foundation
Photosynthesis-enhanced poplar
Carbocene holds a nonexclusive license covering a specifically identified photosynthesis-enhanced hybrid poplar line originally developed by Living Carbon.
The licensed trees carry a photosynthesis-enhancing bypass that recycles carbon otherwise lost through photorespiration. Their value is as a living metabolic innovation and research platform for studying more efficient carbon integration into growth, resilience, propagation, coppicing, breeding, and long-term biological drawdown.
Current work includes active propagation, greenhouse research, breeding, and preparation for appropriate field research.
- Maintain and propagate the living research population
- Research improved short-rotation coppice systems.
- Preserve biological continuity and practical knowledge
- Record plant condition, rooting, stress, growth, and recovery
- Prepare appropriate future ecological and field research
Published research
Controlled-environment proof of concept
Tao, Y., Chiu, L.-W., Hoyle, J. W., Dewhirst, R. A., Richey, C., Rasmussen, K., Du, J., Mellor, P., Kuiper, J., Tucker, D., Crites, A., Orr, G. A., Heckert, M. J., Godinez-Vidal, D., Orozco-Cardenas, M. L., & Hall, M. E. (2023). “Enhanced Photosynthetic Efficiency for Increased Carbon Assimilation and Woody Biomass Production in Engineered Hybrid Poplar.” Forests, 14(4), 827.
Read the peer-reviewed paper ↗
Peer-reviewed controlled-environment research reporting increased photosynthetic efficiency and above-ground biomass in engineered hybrid poplar. Patrick Mellor was a co-author and contributed to project conceptualization, growth evaluation, propagation, biomass analysis, and event selection as described in the publication’s author-contribution statement.
These results concern the experimental lines and conditions described in the publication. Carbocene does not present them as proof of current field performance or of its separate ePRB and developing research directions.
Integration and public scientific work
Greenhouse, biochar, and ecological observation
Propagation, aspen coppicing, soils, water, biochar, material work, plant records, and functional ecological observation connect the research directions materially.
The Oakland greenhouse and public gatherings create a place where scientists, gardeners, biohackers, artists, engineers, and beginners can encounter living research. Counter Culture Labs is a research partner in this community-facing scientific work.
