Pandas, Slugs and Ants Hint at Shortcut to Greener Biofuel

by Thin Lei Win (Thomson Reuters Foundation) ... Scientists believe the animals’ unique ability to break down tough plant material, including bamboo, could provide clues to ramping up production of plant-based biofuels, one substitute for the fossil fuels that drive global warming.

Researchers at Aarhus University, in Denmark, are searching for special enzymes and microorganisms that the animals use to break down dry plant material, such as wood, crop residue and grass.

Biologist Alberto Scoma got the idea while gazing at the panda enclosure at a Belgium zoo and wondering how such a big animal managed to process enough bamboo to survive on it.

Now he has teamed up with four other scientists for a three-year project, starting this year, to look at the digestive systems of not just pandas but also Portuguese slugs and leaf-cutter ants.

In a previous study, after collecting panda dung, the scientists incubated bacteria in it in a laboratory, fed the bacteria bamboo and discovered the organisms could quickly break down biomass into products including ethanol and hydrogen, both potential fuels. READ MORE