FAO moderated e-mail conference entitled "The role of agricultural biotechnologies for production of bioenergy in developing countries" took place from 10 November to 14 December 2008. Major topics of discussion included applications of biotechnologies in jatropha; the potential benefits for small-scale farmers of applying biotechnologies for bioenergy production; biogas production in developing countries; and production of enzymes for efficient bioconversion of lignocellulosic biomass to liquid biofuels. Of the different biotechnologies, most attention was paid to applications of genetic modification, molecular markers and tissue culture in crops for biofuel purposes