Bovine Bellies Yield Clues for New Biofuels
by Maggie Fox (Reuters) Researchers looking for better ways to make biofuels turned to experts at breaking down grass — cattle — and found more than a dozen new compounds in their guts that might help make new, cheap sources of energy.
… In this case, the goal was to find microbes that make enzymes that can efficiently break down the toughest fibers in switchgrass, a tough crop that can be used to produce ethanol and which can grow in places where food crops do not grow well.
But switchgrass is very tough to break down.
“Microbes have evolved over millions of years to efficiently degrade recalcitrant biomass,” Rubin said.
“Communities of these organisms can be found in diverse ecosystems, such as in the rumen of cows, the guts of termites, in compost piles, as well as covering the forest floor.”
Identifying the enzymes that give the tiny bacteria this power could make it easier to turn switchgrass and other plant products into fuel in factories. READ MORE Abstract
There are no comments at the moment, do you want to add one?
Write a comment