Gene breakthrough could help to maximise biofuel production capability
Wed 17 August 2011
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US researchers have identified a single gene which controls ethanol production capacity in a microorganism. The researchers say that the breakthrough could be the missing link in developing biomass crops which produce higher concentrations of ethanol at lower cost.
The discovery of the gene controlling ethanol production in a microorganism by a team of researchers at the US Department of Energy’s BioEnergy Science Center (BESC) known as “Clostridium thermocellum” will mean that scientists can now experiment with genetically altering biomass plants to produce more ethanol.
Current methods to make ethanol from a type of biomass found in switchgrass and agricultural waste require the addition of expensive enzymes to break down the plant’s barriers that guard energy-rich sugars. Scientists, including those at BESC, have been working to develop a more streamlined approach in which tailor-made microorganisms produce their own enzymes that unlock the plant’s sugars and ferment them into ethanol in a single step. Identifying this gene is a key part of moves towards making the first tailor-made microorganism that produces more ethanol.
The US Energy Secretary Steven Chu (reported in Check Biotech) said: “This discovery is an important step in developing biomass crops that could increase yield of ethanol, lower production costs and help reduce our reliance on imported oil.”
Although scientists have studied Clostridium thermocellum for decades, the genetic basis for its ability to tolerate higher concentrations of ethanol had not been determined before.
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