ARPA-E’s PETRO program was created to supply the transportation sector with plant-derived fuels that are cost-competitive with petroleum and don’t affect U.S. food supply. This video highlights the role that ARPA-E has played in connecting traditionally distinct research areas to inform the research and development efforts of project teams looking to engineer plants to replace petroleum.. Specifically, it highlights how the University of Florida leveraged lessons learned from the Joint BioEnergy Institute’s work with E. coli to directly influence their work in harvesting fuel molecules from pine trees, as well as how the same genes tested in pine are now being tested in tobacco at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. This transfer of knowledge facilitates new discovery.