https://phys.org/news/2018-06-critical-gene-unexpected-detour-boost.html > Their discovery could alter the course of gene functional studies in plants and, if applied, it could squeeze more potential out of poplar as a renewable resource for making biofuels and bioproducts. > "At first, we thought it was a mistake, because the enzyme does not need to bind DNA to perform its known function," said Muchero, a biologist at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory. "We repeated the experiment multiple times and kept seeing evidence in the data that the same gene involved in making amino acids also regulates the function of genes involved in producing lignin."