LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska-Lincoln will lead a $13.5 million research effort looking at sorghum as a sustainable source for biofuel production.

The research is funded through a five-year U.S. Department of Energy grant. Scientists will examine how plants and microbes interact, and which sorghum germplasm grows better with less water and nitrogen.

The university is joining forces with researchers at the Danforth Plant Science Center, the DOE-Joint Genome Institute, and six other universities.

Most U.S. biofuels currently are made from corn, but sorghum varieties create more biomass for cellulosic ethanol. UNL agronomy and horticulture professor Daniel Schachtman says that makes it a top contender to replace corn and relieve pressure on an important global food source.

Schachtman is the director of UNL’s Center for Biotechnology, and will lead the project.